Resistance
by efficacious humorosity
Summary: The Host" by Stephenie Meyer. About a year after "The Host" ends, Mel, Jared, Ian, and Wanda are on the home stretch of a long raid, when Wanda finds two rogue humans. They rescue them and bring them back to the community. WandaxIan, OCxOC
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Don't own, don't sue

**A/N: Don't own, don't sue. Okay, this is my first multi-chapter fic for "The Host," so please read and review! Enjoy. **

Chapter 1

It was a wonder no one else noticed them, for they stood out like two sore thumbs.

Though they had fake scars on the backs of their necks, the scars were still obvious, unlike those of actual host bodies. They also looked around the store warily, almost as if they were afraid that someone was going to attack them. Souls would never do that.

What really gave them away, however, were the angry words they were exchanging with each other. They looked like they were friends, but they seemed to be having a very heated disagreement. The girl had her back to me, but from where I stood I could see that she had long black hair. The boy I had a better view of, since they girl standing in front of him was so short. He had dark brown hair and shining green eyes, and I observed that his right hand was hanging limply from his wrist.

Before anyone else could notice them, I quietly approached the girl from behind. When I reached her, I tapped her on the shoulder gently and said, "Excuse me?"

She reacted much more wildly than I ever could have expected whirling around to face me, her arms flailing wildly so that she knocked over half a shelf of vitamin bottles. Then she caught sight of my eyes and subtly clenched her jaw, preparing to fight.

"Is everything okay over there, miss?" the soul behind the pharmacist's counter asked.

Smiling sweetly, I said, "Yes, everything's fine. I just surprised my old friends here, that's all." Patting the girl on the shoulder and flashing her a subtle don't-screw-this-up look, I added, "Her host was always such a klutz."

The pharmacist smiled and went back to his inventory.

"What are you doing?" the girl hissed. Now that she was facing me, I noticed that she had striking sapphire blue eyes, making her look remarkably like a female version of Ian.

"I'm trying to get you out of here safely before anyone else notices that you're still human," I replied, lowering my voice.

"But y-you're one of them," she stammered in shock. "And y-you lied, you could've turned us in!"

I nodded and smiled, trying to be friendly and reassuring.

"Okay," she breathed. "What do you want us to do?"

The boy, who up until that moment had been silent, leapt forward and grabbed the girl's shoulder with his seemingly good hand. "What are you _doing_?" he hissed angrily.

"I'm going with her," the girl replied defiantly, eyeing him out of the corner of her eye. "Are you?"

"But she's one of them!" he protested, his eyes darting around the store nervously.

Honestly, I couldn't blame him for fearing us. After all we'd done to his race, he had a right to. "Yes, she is, but she also lied to the other one," she explained rationally. "And I've never seen that. It's against their rules or something."

I opened my mouth to affirm this, but then I closed it, sensing that the boy wasn't after my approval. "Just trust me on this one, Jeremy," the girl said, pleading now.

So the boy's name was Jeremy. I'd have to remember that. Sighing, he said, "Okay," and released his death grip on her shoulder.

"What do you want us to do?" she repeated, turning to me.

"Just walk out of the store casually, don't act unusual," I told her. Sighing, I asked, "Do you think you could act like souls do?"

"Yeah, I think so," she said, nodding, and I was grateful she didn't put up a fuss about it.

"I'll meet you outside and lead you from there," I continued. "I don't want to tell you anything until we're completely safe."

She nodded and took Jeremy's hand in hers and turned to leave. "Wait!" I hissed.

She turned to look at me curiously. "What?"

"What's your name?" I asked.

A small smile spread across her lips, as though she hadn't had the pleasure of introducing herself to anyone for a long time. "I'm Elizabeth."

I nodded. Elizabeth.

Elizabeth, with Jeremy's hand in hers, turned to leave and left the store nonchalantly, as if nothing were wrong.

That was smart of her, pretending that Jeremy was her partner. I just hoped they knew what soul names were like in case someone stopped them.

As quickly as I could, I gave my items to the man behind the counter to scan. Once I was done, I carried them out of the store quickly, looking around for Elizabeth and Jeremy. I found them by the store window, pretending to consider buying it.

Good. So they were smart.

I approached them, smiling all the while. "Good, now follow me," I said. "Keep chatting like that. We're old friends, remember?"

They continued chatting, but at one point Elizabeth stopped abruptly. "Wait, we don't know your name."

"I'm Wanderer," I told her. "Some people call me Wanda."

She nodded, and continued her small talk with Jeremy. I hastily led them to the car where Ian, Jared, and Mel were waiting. This was our last stop on a raid that had taken us three weeks, and I was grateful for this fact. Having to hide five humans on a raid? Three was complicated enough.

Seeing that I was heading toward the jeep, Jeremy jerked his head at it, and asked, "Who's in the car?"

"Human friends of mine," I replied as we neared. When we were close enough to be recognized, Ian got out of the car, shutting the door behind him and running toward us.

What was he doing? They all usually wait in the car.

I was about to say something when Elizabeth sprinted passed me, crying, "Ian!"

How did she know his name?

She threw herself into his arms and he hugged her tightly, pressing a brotherly kiss to her head. Jeremy soon joined the festivities, wrapping his good arm around both of them.

"Elizabeth," Ian said, looking extremely happy. I hadn't seen him that happy since… well, since I woke up in Pet's body. "I thought you were… dead."

"What do you think I thought about you?" she asked, looking up at him with equal joy on her face. Jared and Melanie got out of the car, both to help me with the bags of goods and to ogle Jeremy and Elizabeth.

"Wanda," Ian said, looking up at me and beaming brightly. "Wanda, this is my younger sister, Elizabeth."

Wait.

Sister?

Then it came to me. Ian had mentioned having a sister once or twice, but he had also mentioned that he was sure she was serving as a host body by now. After their father was taken, he, Kyle, his mother, Elizabeth, and her best friend, who I now knew to be Jeremy, had gone on the run. The O'Shea's hand taken Jeremy with him because both his parents had already been taken, and he had nowhere else to go. Eventually, when a bunch of Seekers found them, they split, Kyle with Ian, and their mother with Elizabeth and Jeremy. When their mother, or rather, the soul in their mother's body came after them, they assumed that Elizabeth and Jeremy had been captured as well.

But apparently not.

"You're Ian's sister?" I asked, still in a bit of shock. So that was why she looked like a female version of him. She was his sister.

She nodded her head. "Of all the souls… I was lucky enough to pick the one that knows my brother."

I beamed happily at her use of the phrase 'lucky enough.' Ian released his sister and leaned forward, giving me a peck on the lips.

Both Elizabeth and Jeremy gaped at us, though not unkindly. They were just surprised.

After a few moments, Elizabeth smiled brightly and nodded in approval. "You're not… disgusted? Appalled?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "If my brother's happy, that's all that matters. And you seem to be making him happy. Besides, I like you Wanderer."

Jeremy relaxed at this declaration and nodded in agreement. "Me too."

Never had any human given me such easy acceptance. Jamie and Jeb had been welcoming, but, of course, they were cautious at the beginning. Elizabeth had been, too, but she trusted her brother's judgment enough and liked me enough to get over that. Jeremy, as well, had been extremely careful and wary, but he trusted Elizabeth enough to accept me.

Humans were so complicated.

Suddenly, with an alarmed expression on her face, Elizabeth turned to Ian and said hesitantly, "Where's Kyle?"

"Oh, he's back at the cave," Ian replied, gripping his sister's shoulders and squeezing them tightly.

"Good," she said, exhaling loudly in relief. "When he wasn't with you… I thought…"

"No, he's fine," Ian reassured her. He then turned to Jeremy and clapped him on the back. "You kept your promise."

"I'm not the type not to," Jeremy replied with a crooked grin.

Elizabeth snapped her head around and demanded, "What promise?"

"Right before we split, I made Jeremy promise to take care of you," Ian explained. "And he kept his promise all right."

"I don't need to be taken care of," she told him, her blue eyes flashing in a way remarkably similar to Ian's.

"Sounds like me," came a familiar voice, the voice that _used_ to be mine.

Melanie and Jared had finally finished loading the items into the jeep and had now joined us, smiling down at Elizabeth and Jeremy. "Hi, I'm Melanie Stryder," she said, offering her hand for the two teenagers to shake. They both shook it.

"I'm Elizabeth O'Shea," Elizabeth said.

"O'Shea?" Mel frowned. "You related to Ian?"

"She's my sister," Ian explained.

"And I'm Jeremy Richards," Jeremy said, introducing himself.

"I'm Jared Howe," Jared said, shaking both their hands as well. "And I don't mean to break up the family reunion and all, but we should probably get on the road. I assume the two of you are coming with us?" Elizabeth and Jeremy glanced at each other and nodded.

"Okay, let's go," Mel said, ushering all of us into the car. I sat in the back with Elizabeth, Ian seated in between us. Mel, Jared, and Jeremy said in the front.

"So why were you in a store anyway?" Jared asked curiously. "Why would you put yourself in danger like that?"

"It was Elizabeth's idea actually," Jeremy replied. "And it was stupid and unnecessary."

"Oh, shut up, Jer," Elizabeth told him playfully. "Jeremy broke his wrist and he needed pain meds… but we never got them."

"Don't worry, we have No Pain back at the caves," I told her. "And Doc can take a look at his wrist."

"You guys have a doctor?" Jeremy asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Mel told him, nodding her head. "Jared, how far are we?"

"About half an hour out," he said.

True to his word, they arrived at the caves half an hour later, and Mel and Jared led the way through the entrance to the main plaza. "Jeb!" Ian bellowed, spotting the man talking to Trudy. "Jeb, we've got two newbies!"

Jeb looked up and hurried over, saying, "Who'd we get?' He looked down at Elizabeth and chuckled. "I'll bet you're an O'Shea, aren't you?"

"Yeah," she nodded as Ian grasped her shoulder again, "I'm Elizabeth O'Shea."

"You look just like Kyle and Ian," Jeb told her, and she beamed. "Only you're a girl and you have Ian's nose."

"And I'm Jeremy Richards," Jeremy said, shaking Jeb's hand.

"Welcome to our community," Jeb said, smiling. Looking up at Ian, Mel, Jared, and me, he asked, "Where'd you find them?"

"I found them in a store," I replied. "I noticed they were still human and I managed to smuggle them out."

"Good job, Wanda," Jeb said, patting me on the back. "I'm going to work on finding somewhere to sleep for you two, okay? Any preferences?"

"I think… I think we'd rather share a room," Jeremy said slowly, and Ian's grasp on his sister's shoulder tightened. "I don't feel comfortable with Elizabeth near me."

"Sure," Jeb shrugged. "I'll see what I can do."

"Are you guys hungry?" I asked, looking down at them. They were young, but not much younger than my new host's body. I would guess that they were both seventeen.

"Yeah, I'm starved," Elizabeth nodded, patting her growling stomach.

I was about to suggest that we go eat, but I was cut off by a loud voice.

"ELIZABETH!"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Don't own, don't sue

**A/N: Don't own, don't sue. Please read and review! **

Chapter 2

There was humanly possible way for Elizabeth to move out of the way before Kyle tackled her to the ground in what was surely a bone-crushing hug. "Elizabeth!" he said, smiling happily, something that was rare for him. He gave her a noogie, saying, "I'm glad you're alive, kid."

"What, you expect me to die?" she asked, frowning as she tried to smooth her hair down again. Scrambling up from her position on the floor under Kyle, she stood and glared at him expectantly, her hands on her hips. "Well?"

"When mom came back…" he replied sullenly, "Ian and I figured you and Jeremy were dead as well."

"We're fine, as you can see," she said, sounding a bit irritated that everyone had underestimated her. "We're just fine."

RRRRRRRRRRRR

"You're happy," I commented when Ian entered our room that night, looking deliriously happy.

Beaming at me, he got onto the mattress beside me and wrapped an arm around me tightly, drawing me to him. "Of course I'm happy," he said, "I have you, Wanderer, and now my sister's alive and here, too. What more could I ask for?"

"Gee, I don't know. A world where you wouldn't jump to the conclusion that your younger sister was dead?" I suggested with a shrug and hint of sarcasm.

Okay, so maybe more than a hint of sarcasm. What can I say? Melanie rubbed off on me.

He pressed a kiss to my hair. "I don't think that's something I can ask for, Wanda," he told me.

I said nothing, wishing that I could give him such a world. After a few moments, he asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing," I replied almost instantly, glad that he couldn't see my eyes darting around in the dark.

"You're an awful liar," he replied, chuckling.

"I'm just wishing that we could live in a world like that," I whispered back. "A world where you didn't have to worry so much about your little sister." I rolled over on top of him, peering into his sapphire blue eyes.

"I wish for that too," he told me, his voice just as low as mine. "But having you with me makes this world a lot more bearable."

With that, he pressed his lips to mine, his mouth soft and warm against my own. I closed my eyes, reveling in the feel of kissing him. One of his hands pressed against the small of my back, and the other stroked my blonde hair. My tongue slipped past his lips, and a moan erupted from the back of his throat, low and wild. The hand that was pressing against the small of my back wandered lower slowly and came to rest on the back of my thigh. I gasped into his mouth, sounding high-pitched and breathy.

Pulling away slightly, he looked at me with concern shining in his blue eyes. "Good or bad?"

With a small smile, I told him, "Good."

"Thought so." Nodding his head, he pressed his lips against mine, smiling against my lips when I moaned his name into his mouth.

"Ian."

His tongue slipped into my mouth, exploring it with every bit of eagerness with which he was kissing me. His hand fisted in my blonde hair, pulling my face closer to his, if at all possible. The thought that we were lying on a mattress flashed through my mind. Where could all this lead to?

We had been sharing a room for about a year now, but never had we gone all the way.

Did I want to?

Did _he_ want to?

I pulled away slightly, my mind made up. "What's wrong, Wanderer?" he asked softly, sounding concerned. Knowing him, he probably thought he did something to upset me.

"Ian, I… I want to go all the way," I told him, whispering solemnly in the darkness. He shifted slightly, holding my face further away from him so that he could get a better look at me. Before he could open his mouth, I cut him off, saying, "Ian O'Shea, if you ask me if I'm sure, I may go sleep in Elizabeth and Jeremy's room."

He chuckled and said, "All right, Wanderer. If you want to."

"I do." I nodded in the darkness, bringing my face closer to his so that my nose rubbed against his. He pressed his lips to mine again, reaching for the hem of my shirt slowly. He pulled my shirt up slowly, tearing his lips from mine and planting languid kisses on my torso instead. I gasped loudly, my fingers curling into his hair. I felt his lips curve into smile against my bare flesh, pleased that he could make me react to him this way. Slowly, he broke off so that he could pull my shirt off over my head, removing my bra as well.

As he tossed it aside, he paused to look at me, his blue eyes growing wide. I felt self-conscious at first, and moved to fold my arms over my chest.

As fast as he was, he deftly caught my arms and pinned them firmly, yet gently, above my head. He buried his head in the space between my breasts and muttered, "You're so beautiful, Wanderer." He lifted his head, looking me in the eye. "Not just this body. But you. Remember? I held you in my hands… and you were the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

I felt my cheeks blush furiously as my shaking hands reached up to grasp the hem of his shirt, pulling it over his head. My eyes took in the sight of the pale lines of his chest and reached up to press my hands. I stroked his well-formed muscles, feeling them spasm under my touch. As we kissed again, his fingers fumbled clumsily with the zipper of my jeans. Chuckling softly, I reached down to help him, sliding my pants halfway down my legs. "Don't laugh, okay?" he said softly, sounding embarrassed. "I've never done this before."

"Neither have I," I reminded him, as I fumbled with the button of his jeans. He was laughing softly now, helping me help him out of his own pants. Once he kicked them all the way off, he gently lowered himself on top of me. I could feel the hardness of his erection pressing into my thigh, and I gasped.

We were really going to do this.

But as his blue eyes sparkled down at me and as he whispered, "I love you, Wanderer," into my ear, I couldn't help but be excited.

RRRRRRRRR

Elizabeth's POV

Lying on my stomach on the mattress, I exhaled loudly, feeling my own warm breath rebound against me. I was waiting for Jeremy to return from having Doc (that was what they called the doctor) check on his wrist. Finding my brothers again was a huge relief. Jeremy and I had been so sure that both Ian and Kyle were long gone, especially with a soul wandering around in Mom's body.

To be honest, Ian's relationship with Wanderer had surprised me quite a bit. But it made me happy to see Ian so happy. And honestly, I liked Wanderer a great deal, and not just because she saved Jeremy and me from that store. I just liked her.

However, it was harder for me to accept Kyle's relationship with Sunny. I had no problem with Sunny, it was just that… she was in Jodi's body. Jodi had been so sweet and kind… I had loved her like an older sister, which I had been sure she would become one day. It was just hard to let go of Jodi when someone else was in her body. But I would eventually. Besides, Kyle seemed happy as well, so I couldn't complain about that.

I felt the mattress sink in beside me as someone sat on it. Jeremy was back.

I lifted my head and greeted him. "Hey." I took his hand from him, the one attached to the alleged broken wrist and examined it closely. "How is it?"

"Well, Doc said it was broken," he replied. "But apparently Wanda goes with them on raids and gets medical supplies. Doc used some of the souls' meds to heal it. I don't remember what it was called, but sure as hell worked."

"Awesome," I said, taking his hand in mine and flexing it back and forth experimentally. He squeezed my hand in his, and I quickly extracted it. I hadn't expected that. "So," I said, clearing my throat, "busy day, huh?"

"Oh, just a bit," he said sarcastically, folding his arms behind his head and lying back on the mattress next to me. Turning his head to look at me, he asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I shrugged. "We found both Ian and Kyle and we have a new home. Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"I don't know," he replied, glancing at me curiously. "You seem quieter than usual."

"That's because I have more to think about than I usually do," I responded. Then I winced in pain. "But my back is killing me, too."

"Really?" he said, looking concerned now. "Roll over onto your stomach again." I did as I was told, and within moments of doing so, I felt his hands rubbing my back and I tensed up under his touch. "Relax," he murmured, chuckling softly. I did relax as best as I could, but it was hard to do when my best friend as touching me this way.

Why did my skin feel like it was on fire, even though the thin material of my shirt stood in between my skin and his hand?

Why was I shivering while I felt like my skin was burning?

"Um… I'm going to go to sleep, Jeremy," I whispered softly, closing my eyes tightly. I didn't want him to stop, but at the same time I knew that I needed time to think. And I couldn't think when my skin was on fire.

"Okay," he replied, his voice as low as mine. He stopped massaging my back, but he removed only one, leaving his right hand on my back. It drifted down to the small of my back and stayed there, his fingers stroking my back through my shirt in what he probably thought was a comforting manner.

It wasn't, it was just making my skin burn even more.

I sighed audibly, hoping he would get the hint, but apparently he didn't. He probably took it a sign of being content with our current position. I sighed again and shut my eyes, hoping sleep would claim me quickly.

It didn't.

When I woke the next morning, I was not surprised at our new, compromising position. We were still both lying on our stomachs, but Jeremy had one leg draped over my legs and one arm draped across my side. His other arm laid under me, his hand curling into my soft stomach.

I had woken up in this position every morning for the past four years.

You see, when we split from Kyle and Ian, our mom was captured soon after. About a year after we went on the run, the soul in our mother's body came after us, along with a squad of Seekers. I remembered crying hysterically that night, the reality of the loss of my mother finally hitting me. Jeremy, being the best friend that he is, had comforted me, curling around me protectively. He had done that every night since.

I sighed, pulling myself out from underneath him. He grunted and tightened his arms around me, pulling my body closer to his.

What was with him lately?

All the touching and stuff was starting to weird me out, he had been like this for a few weeks. I nudged him in the ribs with my elbow. "Psst! Jer!"

When he didn't respond, I nudged him harder, and he jumped up. "Holy hell, Elizabeth! What's your issue?"

"We need to get up," I told him, wriggling out from his protective embrace.

"Fine," he grunted, standing up and stretching and yawning.

"Um… Elizabeth?" came a voice at the door.

We both whipped our heads around to face the speaker. It was Melanie, the other girl who had been in the car with Jared, Ian, and Wanderer. "Oh, hi, Mel," I said, smiling at her.

She frowned at Jeremy, and I wondered how long she had been there. "Elizabeth, I need to talk to you."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Don't own, don't sue

**A/N: Don't own, don't sue. Thanks for the review and please keep it up! I like reviewers.**

Chapter 3

Elizabeth's POV

I followed Melanie out into the hall, leaving Jeremy to continue to prepare himself to leave our room. "What's up?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

"Is there something going on between you and Jeremy?" she asked, eyeing me shrewdly. "Because, I have no objections to that, except you need to tell your brothers… and they probably will have objections."

Shaking my head, I replied, "Nothing's going on between Jeremy and me." Sighing, I added, "Trust me, if there was, the first person I'd tell would be Ian… and then Kyle. And you're right, they probably will have objections. But I'm seventeen, and I'll be eighteen next month, so they really have no right to tell what I can and can't do with my personal life."

Chuckling, she ruffled my hair and muttered, "You're a fighter."

"Damn right I am," I said proudly. "Well, growing up in the O'Shea house… you learn how to stand up for yourself."

"Good for you," she said, smiling down at me.

"What made you ask if there was anything going on between Jeremy and me in the first place?" I asked curiously.

Frowning, she said, "I passed Ian and Wanda's room on the way out to breakfast, and Ian asked me to check on you guys quickly. I… I saw the position you were sleeping in." Smirking, she said, "It was rather compromising."

"Look," I told her, lowering my voice to a solemn whisper, "the day the Seekers came after us, along with the soul in my mom's body… I was a mess. I cried hysterically the whole night, and Jeremy was the only one there to comfort me. He did a great job of doing that and when we went to sleep that night… I asked him to curl around me that way. It made me feel more secure, knowing that he was right there and that he wouldn't let anyone hurt and he wouldn't disappear and come back a year later with Seekers in tow. And… he's done it every night since."

She looked at me, a mix of wonder and pity in her hazel eyes. "All right, Elizabeth," she said, placing a friendly hand on my shoulder. "I trust you, then."

With that, she walked off to grab breakfast.

I rapped on the door to our room, saying, "Jer! Come on, we're not going to get food because of you!"

"I'm coming!" he barked, sliding open the door and stepping out of it. "Okay, let's go."

When we reached the mess hall, we got our food and I took a seat across from Ian, who was sitting next to Wanderer. Jeremy immediately folded his arms onto the table and dropped his head onto them unceremoniously. He was out within seconds. "Good morning, Elizabeth," he said, grinning brightly at me and leaning over the table to ruffle my hair.

I glared up at him. "You were never a morning person. What's happened to you, Ian?"

"Nothing," he said happily, wrapping an arm around Wanda, who blushed a furious red color.

I raised an eyebrow at the pair of them, but said nothing. "And how are you, Wanderer?" I asked, addressing her.

"I'm fine," she said, grinning sheepishly down at her breakfast.

"Just fine?" Ian asked, pretending to be appalled. "Wanderer, I'm offended. I thought I did a better job last night than 'just fine.'"

"Did a better job what?" I asked, a spoon in my mouth. When I realized what he was talking about, my mouth dropped open and I pulled the spoon out hastily, covering my eyes with my hands. "Oh, ew! Bad images!"

Ian chuckled, but I heard Wanderer whisper worriedly, "What's wrong?"

And then I realized how my disgust must seem to her. She thought I was disgusted because she was a soul and Ian was human, and that thought was the furthest thing from the truth.

Uncovering my eyes, I explained, "Wanderer, it's just that… for me, it's disgusting to try to imagine Ian doing… that, and that's because he's my brother." She still looked confused, so I wracked my mind for anything that would help her relate to the feeling. Remembering the story Ian had told me, about Wanderer and Melanie sharing the same body for a while, I said, "Like, try to imagine Jamie doing it."

She thought for a moment, before a horrified look came upon her face. "That's exactly what I mean," I told her, chuckling at her facial expression.

"I see," she said, smiling in understanding.

Smiling back at her, I poked Jeremy in the ribs. "Get up, sleepy," I told him as he lifted his head and grunted before beginning to eat.

Wanda looked at him, clearly amused by his behavior. "Is he okay?" she asked, looking as though she was fighting the urge to laugh.

"He's not a morning person," I told her, chuckling.

Just then, Jeb entered the kitchen and clapped his hands together saying, "Okay, it's been an exciting couple of days, what with getting the raiders back and welcoming two new additions to our community… so I thought we'd play a game to settle ourselves down."

Small cheers went up from the crowd; obviously, they were excited. "Play a game?" I echoed, frowning at my brother across the table.

"Soccer," he said. "We try to get balls on raids so that we can play games. It eases the tension."

At this, Jeremy perked up. "Soccer?" he said, his eyes brightening.

Wanderer laughed, seeing this as well. "Yes, soccer," she said, nodding her head. "But if Ian and Kyle are playing together… you better hope you're not on the other team."

"Oh, I think we can hold our own," I said, catching Jer's eye and winking. He winked back, stifling his laughter with great difficulty.

"Is there something you're not telling me, Liz?" Ian asked suspiciously. Addressing Wanda, he said, "I don't like this. I don't like this at all. I know Elizabeth seems innocent, but she's actually really sneaky."

"I don't know," Wanderer said, pretending to be torn. "I think I rather like this side of her." I smirked victoriously at Ian.

"I've been betrayed," he said darkly, the sparkling of his sapphire blue eyes giving him away.

Jeremy and I glanced at each other again and had to suppress the urge to snigger.

This was going to be good.

You see, Jeremy and I had seen Kyle and Ian play soccer before, and we knew that they were really good, being able to tell what the other was going to do before the other even knew. However, they hadn't seen _us_ play together. Not to brag or anything, but… we were even better than the two of them.

When we entered the rec room, everyone began nominating team captains.

"Ian! Ian and Lily should be captains!"

"Yeah, Ian and Lily!"

"Okay, okay," Ian said, laughing. "I'll do it. I want Wanda."

"I want Jared," Lily announced.

"Kyle!"

"Trudy!"

"Maggie!"

"Heath!"

"Melanie!"

"Geoffrey!"

"Jeremy!"

"Brandt!"

"Elizabeth!"

Soon, everyone was split into two teams, and the goalies on each side, Maggie and Lily, backed up to protect the goals. And the game began.

Ian and Kyle fell into their comfortable rhythm, knowing where the other was going to be. Jeremy and I hung back by the goal, biding our time.

"What are you doing?" Lily hissed at us. "Get in the game!"

We glanced at each other and shrugged, figuring now was as good a time as any. Ian was dribbling the ball down the rec room towards our goal. I ran towards him, and he caught my eye, smiling arrogantly. Already he assumed he would win.

How very wrong he was.

Swiftly, I took the ball from him and began dribbling it the other way, ignoring his cry of, "Hey!"

I could see Kyle running towards me, and I knew it was only a matter of time before he reached me. Kicking the ball, it passed slightly to the right of him, and he laughed, saying, "No one's there, Liz!"

He was right, but Jeremy appeared out of nowhere and took the ball, kicking it past Maggie into the goal. "Yes!" he shouted, running over to high-five me.

"Oh," Ian panted, running to stand beside me and leaning forward on his knees. "So this is what you were talking about?"

"Yup," I said, my lips smacking on the 'p'. "Admit it, Ian, Jer and I are better than you and Kyle."

"Never," he said, grinning sideways at me in a rueful manner.

"Then suffer the consequences!" I told him.

And suffer he did.

In the end, our team beat his 21-1. "All right, I admit defeat," Ian grunted to me after the game, pulling me in for a sweaty hug.

"Let me at her," Kyle growled, wrenching me from Ian's grasp and putting me in a headlock, giving me a noogie. I looked around the room, but there was no one to save me. Jeremy had decided to go take a bath after our game, having sweated enough to hydrate a small third-world country.

Laughing, I struck him just above the groin, but there was no power behind it. Still, he said, "Hey, watch it, kid. That was awfully close."

"Too bad," I told him, sticking my tongue out and punching him half-heartedly in his chest.

"Amusing," he said, and made to throw a punch at my face. I caught his hand deftly before it reached my nose and twisted it, his arm straight up and down, forcing his upper body to double over. "Uncle, uncle!"

Laughing again, I released him, only to have Ian tackle me from behind. "Ian!" I protested, trying to wriggle out from underneath him as he noogied me. "Kyle already did that!"

"Is everything all right?"

I looked up to find that the person who had spoken was Wanderer, and she was looking at Kyle, Ian, and me worriedly. Ian released me, and I stood, brushing myself off. "Everything's fine, Wanderer," I told her, smiling. "We're just playing around."

"But I thought…" she said, her high-pitched voice trailing off uncertainly, "that only males did that."

"When you grow up with Ian and Kyle," I replied, laughing dryly. "They just horsed around a lot, growing up. And since I was the only girl, they involved me in it too. It's fun for us, there's no harm in it."

"Okay," she said, perking up considerably. Ian walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her into his side, and pressing a soft kiss into her blonde hair.

"Get a room," Kyle groaned, covering his eyes with his hands, but his smile betrayed his true emotions.

"Aw, I think they're cute, Kyle," I said, nudging him in the ribs. "Come on, can you show me the way to the kitchen again? I keep forgetting."

"Sure thing, sis," he said, slinging an arm around my shoulders and steering me away from the rec room. We left Ian and Wanderer behind us, who were oblivious to our presence anyway. "So," he said, as we walked in the hallways, "how do you like it here?"

"As compared to what?" I asked dryly. "Hiding? Honestly, Ky, I love it. The best part was finding out that you and Ian are still alive."

"It was nice to see you living and breathing, too," he laughed.

"I'm sure it was," I replied. "But at least I wasn't alone all those years. I had Jeremy."

"Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy," Kyle said, shaking his head, and his hand gripped my shoulder tightly. "Is there something going on between the two of you that I should know about?"

"What?" I gaped at him shocked that I had been asked that question twice in one day. "That's the second time someone's asked me that today!"

"Who else asked?"

"Melanie."

"She's a smart girl," he told me. Squeezing my shoulder, he asked, "So… is there?"

"No!" I told him firmly. "If there was… Ian would know first. Then you."

"Why am I second?" he asked, his question accompanied by a scowl.

"Because, somehow, I think he's less likely to skin Jeremy alive."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Don't own, don't sue

**A/N: Don't own, don't sue. Thanks for all the reviews and please keep it up! Enjoy! Just to let you know, the story will be switching back and forth between Wanderer's POV and Elizabeth's. **

Chapter 4

Wanderer's POV

I always knew when something was wrong because everyone started disappearing and Ian would try to confine me to our room so that I wouldn't find out on my own.

It was happening again. "Ian, what's going on?" I demanded, glaring at him because he wouldn't tell me.

"Nothing's going on, Wanderer," he told me, his face a careful mask of indifference.

"Liar," I replied. "There's something going on, and I want to know."

"I'm not going to tell you," he told me smugly.

I sighed, ready to admit defeat, but then I heard Elizabeth's and Jeremy's voices just outside our room. "You may not," I said, "but I bet Elizabeth will."

"No!" he cried, trying to pull me back down onto the mattress, but I was already sliding back the red door.

I stepped out into the hall and spotted Elizabeth walking closely with Jeremy about five yards down. In fact, they were walking so closely, it made me worry. It was almost as if they thought they needed protection. "Elizabeth!" I called.

She whipped her head around, looking alert and uptight. When she realized that it was I who called her, her face softened and she relaxed. She headed towards me, Jeremy trailing after her uncertainly. "Hey, Wanderer," she greeted me. "You called?"

"What's going on?" I asked. She flashed her blue eyes meaningfully at Jeremy, and I knew she was going to lie before she even opened her mouth. "Don't even try to lie to me. Everyone's disappearing, probably into the rec room, and your brother won't let me go anywhere except for the kitchen and our room. I _know_ something's up, so you might as well just tell me."

"Fine, I'll tell you," she sighed, brushing some of her black hair out of her face.

Just then, Ian stepped out of our room and said, "Don't tell her, Elizabeth!"

She glared at her brother. "Ian, her body may be young, but Wanda needs to know the truth. I understand wanting to protect her, but this is getting ridiculous." She turned to me and said, "They found some more humans."

I almost laughed out loud from relief as Ian came to stand beside me. More humans? That was great! But something in Elizabeth's face told me that something else was going on, something she hadn't already told me. "What else is there?" I asked softly, not liking the tight, worried expression that still masked her beautiful face.

"There are two of them," she said heavily, as if the information had been weighing her down for some time. She ran a hand through her hair, messing up her part. "They… they tried to kill Andy."

"Is he okay?"

The words were out of my mouth immediately, before I could even think about anything else. I loved all the people here so much that their well-being was the first thing I ever thought about.

"Yeah, he's fine, he fought them off easily," Jeremy said, finally speaking up. "But he had help from Kyle and Elizabeth." He rested a hand on Elizabeth's shoulder and squeezed it tightly, in a manner that was a little too friendly, in my limited experience.

For the first time, I realized that Elizabeth's face bore the signs of a recent fight. She had several scratches on the right side of her face, and the other side bore a gash. Her left eye looked as though it was going to develop into a black eye soon. "What happened?" I asked, grabbing hold of her shoulders instinctively and brushing her hair back to get a better look at her face. "Have you seen Doc?"

"It's nothing, Wanda," she told me. "We've got to go the tribunal first, then I'll go to Doc."

"Elizabeth, let me see you," Ian said, stepping forward and taking his sister's chin, forcing her to look him in the eyes.

Though it wasn't the first time I had noted the resemblance between the siblings, I was still shocked to see just how much they looked alike. Though all O'Shea's looked alike, I had to say that Ian and Elizabeth bore the strongest resemblance.

They had the same sapphire blue eyes, but of course, Kyle did, as well. They had the same fair skin, and the same black hair, but Kyle had those, too.

But Ian and Elizabeth had the same straight nose, unlike Kyle's, which had been broken numerous times.

Their eyes held the same warmth and friendliness, that didn't grace Kyle's often enough, but was nearly always present in Ian and Elizabeth's. When they smiled, their eyes crinkled at the corners.

Ian and Elizabeth had the same personalities, too, though Elizabeth did show some traces of Kyle's personality occasionally. But it was ninety-nine percent Ian's personality. Yet she was undeniably her own person.

I snapped out of my reverie as Ian said, "That's going to be a pretty nasty black eye."

"Probably," she agreed, nodding and trying to take her chin out of Ian's grasp.

He held his ground, keeping her chin in his hands. "You shouldn't have gotten involved," he said, looking down at her disapprovingly. "I'm sure Andy and Kyle had it handled."

"Yeah, that's why Kyle got a knife in the back," she said, finally wrenching free of her brother's grasp.

"Kyle's got a knife in the back?" he asked, sounding shocked.

"Why do you think I jumped in?" she asked, tears shining in her blue eyes. "I know how to fight, but I'm not a fighter like Kyle. If I thought he and Andy had it handled, I wouldn't have done anything."

"Okay, I'm sorry, Liz," Ian said, gathering her in his arms and pressing her face against his chest, looking shocked to see her crying. "I'm sure Kyle will be fine."

"We should go see him," I suggested.

"Sure, I'll go get some of his stuff from his room," Ian said. "Wanda, can you take Jeremy and Elizabeth down to the hospital wing?"

I nodded, and he trotted the opposite way down the hallway. Silently, I hugged Elizabeth, saying, "Kyle will be fine."

She sniffed and nodded. "I'll take her so you can lead the way," Jeremy said, gently peeling Elizabeth off of me. A few tears were streaming down her face now. Jeremy swept her legs out from under her, and caught her upper body before she could fall. "Show the way, Wanderer."

I led them down the hall to the hospital wing in silence, but I could hear Elizabeth sniffing occasionally. I had never seen her like this before, and, judging by Ian's reaction, he hadn't either. "Is she going to be okay?" I asked Jeremy softly in a whisper.

"She'll be fine," he reassured me, glancing down at Elizabeth, who was trying to stem the flow of her tears. "She's just… upset. She loves her brothers a lot, and she hates it when anything happens to them. You should've seen her the night she convinced herself that Ian and Kyle were dead." He shook his head. "Disastrous. She practically drowned me in her tears."

"Oh, shut up, Jer," Elizabeth said sourly, reaching up to swat him on the head. She was no longer crying, though she was glaring up at him.

He chuckled and smiled, almost as if he knew irritating her would help her to stop crying.

When we finally reached the hospital wing, he set her down on her feet, and she hurried to her brother's bedside. Jeremy and Elizabeth stood on either side of Kyle, and Elizabeth's hand was stroking his face softly.

"Stop freaking out, sis," Kyle said softly, wincing even as he spoke. "Doc says I'm going to be fine."

"I just hope it doesn't get infected," she said worriedly, pushing some of his black hair out of his blue eyes for him. She spotted me hanging back and jerked her head in their direction, saying, "Don't be stupid, Wanda. Get over here."

Smiling shyly, I approached them and stood at the foot of Kyle's bed. He smiled up at me, saying, "Is Sunny worried?"

"I don't think she knows yet," I replied. "I just found out a few minutes ago myself."

"Don't let her worry, okay, Wanda?" he said, his eyes soft and pleading. He looked so much like his brother in that moment. "She trusts you."

"Okay," I nodded.

"Oh, and Wanda?" he said, as if asking for another request. Sometimes it was hard to embrace how friendly he was to me now, after he tried to kill me and all.

"What is it, Kyle?" I asked, ready to accept any request he may have.

"Can you look after Elizabeth and Jeremy while I'm in here?" he asked. "I know that Ian will, and it's not that I don't trust him… but somehow I think you're more competent."

"True," Elizabeth chuckled. Then the grin faded from her face. "But I don't need to be taken care of."

"Yeah!" Jeremy agreed enthusiastically. "And neither do I."

"Well," Elizabeth told him, "that's debatable."

He gaped at his friend, feigning offense. "That hurts me deep, Elizabeth."

"As it should."

I lost myself in the moment briefly, enjoying watching the playful banter between the two best friends. Even in times like these, it was nice.

Elizabeth's POV

Jeremy and I stopped by our room briefly before heading over to the rec room for the tribunal. "Thanks, Jer," I said, pausing in brushing off our mattress. "For everything."

"It's no problem, Liz," he told me, blushing a furious red color. "I'm more than happy to do everything for you."

"That's sweet," I told him. Chuckling, I added, "Can you believe that yesterday, two people asked me if something was going on between the two of us?"

"What?" he said, freezing and gaping at me, blushing an even deeper red hue.

"Yeah, both Mel and Kyle asked me that yesterday," I replied, chuckling. Then I caught sight of his facial expression. "Are you okay, Jeremy?"

He opened his mouth.

Then closed it.

Then opened it again.

Then closed it again.

Suspiciously, I asked, "Jeremy, is there something I should know?"

"I probably should've told you a long time ago," he replied, staring at his feet and shaking his head. "Elizabeth, I… I love you, Liz."

I felt my lower jaw drop in shock. He stepped closer to me, as I whispered, "But… how?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, taking another step closer to me. "Somewhere along in the years of being on the run with you, I just… I fell in love with you."

"Jeremy, I… but you're my best friend," I said, scrambling for words now as he took yet another step toward me.

"I love everything about you," he whispered, and he was now close enough to reach out and tuck a lock of my black hair behind my ear. "I love your body, and your face… and what you say, what you do, how you do it, I love it when you get mad… but most of all, I love it when you're happy."

His face was so close to mine, his breath washing over my face. Instinctively, I leaned towards him, and my nose brushed his. "Jer, I…" I said, my voice trailing off. I couldn't finish. I didn't know what else to say.

Luckily, he seized the opportunity to press his lips to mine once, softly, before pulling away slightly to look me in the eyes. "Elizabeth?" he said worriedly. "Are you okay?"

Without saying a word, I grabbed his hand and pressed it to my cheek, feeling my face burn where he touched it. "My skin," I gasped, surprised at how hot it felt, "it burns where you touch it."

"Is that good?" he asked, his brows knitting together in confusion.

"Jer, I… I love you, too," I replied, just now realizing it. Spending all those years on the run with him had made it hard to differentiate between love and a strong friendship, but my skin didn't burn when anyone else touched it. I also noticed that my heart was speeding up and my breathing was becoming more and more shallow.

The look that spread across his face was one of utter joy. "Liz, are you… are you sure?" he asked, looking at me with his bright green eyes.

"I'm sure," I nodded. "It was hard to tell, after seeing only you for about five years, but… but I know it now. I love you."

"I love you, too, Elizabeth," he muttered, pressing his lips to mine, with more force this time. One of his arms wrapped around my waist, pressing my body against his, but the other hand stayed on my cheek, cupping it gently. Pulling away, he said, "Now I'm afraid I have to ask you to do something dangerous."

"What?" I asked, confused as I looked up at him.

"I need you to tell Ian and Kyle."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Don't own, don't sue

**A/N: Don't own, don't sue. Thanks for all the reviews, and please keep it up! **

Chapter 5

Wanderer's POV

In the end, Jeb postponed the tribunal for a few hours, to "let people settle down," as he put it. I made use of the time to get some work done, grabbing a bin of dishes from the kitchen and heading for the stream. On my way out of the kitchen, I caught a glimpse of Ian and Elizabeth. Ian had a tight, strained look on his face that I hadn't seen in a while, and Elizabeth was speaking sternly to him. She caught sight of me and the dishes I was holding, and called, "Wait, Wanda! I'll help you with those!" She muttered something to Ian and jumped off the counter, catching up with me.

"Thanks for offering to help," I said, shifting the weight of the bin.

"No, thank _you_," she said emphatically, glancing back at Ian. "You saved me from my brother." Seeing what must've been the confused expression on my face, she explained, "Jeremy and I are… partners now, and I had to tell Ian. He wasn't too happy with the idea of his younger sister having a partner."

"I understand," I told her, laughing. "I know how protective he can be."

"Besides, I've kind of been wanting to talk to you," she said, shrugging as we reached the stream. We both crouched down and began to wash the dishes. "I want to get to know you better." Shuddering, she said, "It's a good thing I wasn't here when Kyle tried to kill you. Ian didn't want to upset you, which is why he didn't throw him in the river, but I probably would've been so pissed off that I would've done it anyway."

I looked at her, shocked. "But he's your _brother_."

"Yeah, he's my brother," she sighed, rinsing off a dish. "And I love him. But he's an idiot and a giant douche bag. Trying to kill you… that just crosses the line." Sighing again, she added, "And if I had been here the first night, when they _both_ tried to kill you…"

"Would you have liked me?" I interrupted.

"I don't know what you mean," she said, her eyebrows creasing together in confusion, much like her brothers'.

"If you had been here when I first arrived, would you have accepted me?" I repeated, trying to make my question more clear.

"I don't know," she admitted after a few thoughtful moments. "I'm sorry." I opened my mouth to tell her it was fine, but she continued. "I definitely would've, I'm sorry to say this, thought I hated you, when you first arrived, but I wouldn't have tried to kill you. I can fight, but I'm not a killer. I only fight to defend myself, or the people I love." Flashing a wry sideways grin, she added, "That includes you now."

"I don't deserve that." My voice was a shaky whisper.

"Ian's right," she chuckled, "you _are_ too self-sacrificing. Anyway, I probably would've killed Kyle right then and there for being stupid. I would've only throttled Ian. He can be just as bad as Kyle, when he's not thinking, which happens often for both of them, in my opinion, but he learns fast. And inside… he's really so gentle."

"I know," I muttered, feeling my cheeks heat up. I was glad she wasn't watching me, but instead, she was staring into the stream in a reflective manner.

"I like to think… that I would've learned quickly, like Jeb," she murmured. "But I can be as stubborn as Kyle, sometimes. I definitely would've learned once Ian started to. I trust him completely." Looking up at me now, she said, "I would've stopped Kyle, you know. I can read my brothers better than anyone else, and I would've stopped him."

"You would've been hurt trying to protect me," I told her. "I wouldn't want that."

"Wanda, I know I don't look like it, but I could take Kyle in a fight," she said, laughing mirthlessly. "Part of it is because I'm his 'baby' sister, and he wouldn't ever do anything more than restrain me in a fight. But even if he did fight back, I could take him. Like I said before, I know how to fight, and I would've done it in that situation."

"I wanted to unlock Mel then," I admitted. "So that she could fight back for me. But I couldn't do it, and I couldn't fight back myself. I wish I was stronger, though."

"You could be," she told me seriously.

I laughed. "Yeah, right."

"No, really," she said. "I know that body's small and sort of weak, but you can condition any human body to be strong. I could teach you if you want." Her face brightened at the idea.

"I don't want to learn how to fight," I protested.

She held up her hand, saying, "I don't want to teach you how to fight. But I could help you to condition your body. You're probably one of the strongest people I've met, emotionally speaking, but I could help you to be stronger in a physical sense. I can help you condition your body, so if you're ever in a situation like that again, your body will be able to take more."

I perked up at that. "I like the sound of that," I told her, "but Ian-"

"I know, I won't tell him," she said, smiling faintly. "I know my brother, Wanderer, and he'll be _furious_ if he found out. I won't overwork you, though. I can sense people's limits, and I'll stretch yours, but I won't push you over them."

"Sounds good," I said, smiling back at her. I had another friend. Of course, I had known that she liked me the day we met, but it was nice for the fact to be exemplified sometimes. I sighed. "I hope he doesn't find out. Anger is so very ugly, and I don't like seeing that in him."

"It's a human thing, I guess," she shrugged.

"I get angry, too," I added, "but mine's more… timid."

"Really?" she said, cocking her head at me. "I can't imagine you angry."

"I can't imagine _you_ angry, either," I pointed out.

That made her laugh. "I'm usually calm, but once something sets me off, I'm as bad as Kyle. I don't get physically violent, but I yell and scream like anything. Ask Ian or Kyle. My anger can be quite formidable."

I tried to imagine the small girl crouching next to me yelling at a big man like either of her brothers, and the image made me laugh. "I'm sure it is," I assured her, still laughing.

Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed in the room.

"Wanda? Lizzy?"

"Ian!" I cried joyfully, standing.

Ian stepped out into the light, chuckling, and walked toward us. He gave me a quick peck on the forehead before giving Elizabeth a brotherly hug. "Is everything okay, Ian?" Elizabeth asked, looking up at him warily.

"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine," he replied, running a hand anxiously through his black hair. "But the tribunal's starting soon and I figured you'd want to be there."

"Hell, yes," she growled. Then she glanced back at the dishes. "Oh, but the dishes…"

"It's okay, Elizabeth," I told her quickly, offering her a small smile. "We can come back and finish them later."

"Okay," she said, nodding, and Ian began to lead us toward the game room. "Ian, have you…?"

"Settled down about the whole Jeremy thing?" he finished for her, and glanced back to see her nod her head. "No, I have not. But I'm not going to skin him alive, if that's what you mean."

"Good," she said, exhaling. "I expected nothing more and nothing less, at this point anyway. Just don't tell Kyle yet."

"You're going to have to tell him eventually," Ian told her, his blue eyes flashing. "You won't be able to hide it forever."

"Of course I won't," she scoffed. "I was just thinking as long as possible." Upon seeing her older brother glare at her, she hastily added, "Kidding, kidding. I'll tell him once he's out of the hospital wing. I don't want him to relapse or something. And probably after you've accepted it."

"All right, I guess that's acceptable," Ian grumbled, and I took his hand in mine.

"Ian," I said softly, "don't you think Elizabeth's old enough to make her own decisions concerning her love life?"

Elizabeth flashed me a grateful grin at my defense for her. "Wanderer-" he started, but I cut him off.

"She's nearly eighteen years old, Ian," I told him firmly, yet gently, squeezing his hand in mine. "I think you should let her make her own decisions and mistakes and accept them because they're hers."

"Woot," Elizabeth cheered, "go Wanderer."

I smiled back at her, and I could see her blue eyes twinkling in the darkness. I heard Ian sigh heavily, and I could tell he was about to cave. "Okay, okay," he said, and I heard him run his free hand through his dark locks. "Elizabeth… I hope you and Jeremy are happy together. I know he's a good kid, and I'd love to have him as a little brother, but the concept of you having a partner is hard for me to wrap my mind around. I mean, before Wanda found you, the last time I'd seen you, you were _twelve_."

"Right, I forgot about that," she chuckled.

"So it's hard for me to get used to this seventeen year old you, that has a partner and can kick ass," he said, running a hand through his hair again. I squeezed his hand again, reassuringly.

"I understand, bro," she said, and I think I heard her take a few quick steps to grasp his free hand. "I'll give you time, but until you can get fully used to it… I just need you to stay calm about it."

"Sure, sure," he said, nodding his head.

When we finally reached the game room, we saw two humans restrained in chairs, Jeb between them with his rifle. Jared and Brandt each guarded one of them, their jaws clenched and their eyes full of malice. We filed into the room, and Jeb said, "All right, looks like everyone's here. Let's get started then."

"Look, we didn't hurt anyone important!" one of the humans protested. He had dark red hair and angry green eyes, which were smoldering with indignation at the moment.

"Important?" Elizabeth echoed, standing from her previous sitting position and clenching and unclenching her fists rhythmically. "The man that helped Andy, who was the guy you attacked, was my _brother_."

"So?" the man smirked. "Look, I don't mean to sound harsh, little girl-"

"Shut _up_," she said, speaking the words succinctly, her voice low and dangerous. "Call me little girl again and I will kick the shit out of you. Put another knife in my brother's back and I will bash your head in using my bare fists, okay? Do I make myself clear?"

"Don't take this personally," the other man said, finally speaking. This one had brown hair and brown eyes, his hair muddy and matted and his eyes hateful. "But you're not much of a threat."

Without uttering another word, Elizabeth pushed her way through the crowd and stood in front of the brown-haired man. "Why don't you say that to my face, jackass?" she snarled under her breath and I felt Ian suck in a quick, deep breath. He was afraid… no, not afraid, worried, worried about what his younger sister may do when she was so furious.

"I said, you're not much of a threat," the man repeated, his smirk growing wider.

Her movement was so quick, so fast, that I would've missed it, had I blinked. She grabbed one of his fingers and bent it backward furiously, her blue eyes flaming with anger. I caught sight of Jeremy in the corner of the room, his green eyes anxious and his mouth a thin line. He wasn't worried about what she might do… he was worried about what might _happen_ to her. He loved her so much, I could feel it radiating across the room.

That was good. Elizabeth needed someone to love her like that.

The brown-haired man howled in pain as Elizabeth stepped back, disappearing into the crowd again. "What the hell?" he said, looking down at his finger. "Who's that little bitch? So what if I stabbed her dickhead brother?"

"Shut up!" Jeb ordered, poking him with the barrel of the gun. "You say one more thing outta line and I'll get her back up here. You've got nine more fingers for her to break."

The man gulped.

"All right, so who wants to start talking?" Jared asked, looking infuriated.

The redheaded man sighed loudly. "All right, all right. We only did it because… because the souls ordered us to."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I own absolutely nothing

**A/N: I own absolutely nothing. Please read and review. Enjoy! **

Chapter 6

Elizabeth's POV

"What the hell are you talking about, dickhead?" I growled, standing beside Jeremy in the back of the rec room again.

"The souls have our families!" the redheaded man shouted back at me, and I felt Jeremy's hand wind around my own, grasping it tightly. "They said they'll keep them human as long as we do whatever they say, and they told us to hunt down rogue humans!"

"What?" Jeb asked, sounding surprised as he poked the redheaded man with the butt of the gun.

"He's telling you the truth!" the brunette man butted in, looking earnest.

"What are your names?" Jared demanded, glaring at each of the men in front of him.

"Evan Williams," the brown-haired man answered, glaring back up at Jared.

"Tony Andrews," the redheaded man supplied, giving Jared a look that could kill.

"Why are we supposed to trust you?" Ian asked, standing up a few yards from where I was standing with Jeremy. "How do we know you're telling the truth? The man you stabbed is my brother, too, and frankly, I could rip your head off with my bare hands right now."

I felt myself send an appreciative grin in Ian's direction, and I squeezed Jeremy's hand in mine. "I know, but our families are in danger!" Evan grunted, now glaring at Ian. "We weren't going to kill those two men, we were only going to bring them back to the souls."

I felt my stomach roll over as I broke into a cold sweat. If I hadn't saved them, Kyle and Andy would be well on their way being used as host bodies now. Suddenly, I felt nauseous, just thinking about my brother's body being inhabited by someone else. Fundamentally, I didn't have much against the souls, other than the whole taking over our planet thing, but the thought of my brother being used as a host was nothing less than sickening. I felt my knees buckle as I slid to the floor of the room. "Hey," Jeremy whispered softly, looking down at me with concern. He squatted down to reach eye level with me. "Are you okay?"

I shook my head, whispering back, "Jer, I need to get out of here."

He nodded gravely, pursing his lips. Wordlessly, he scooped me up into his arms, heading for the exit. Ian caught my eye as Jeremy made his way out with me in his arms, and I flashed him what I hoped was a reassuring glance.

Jeremy didn't speak once the entire way from the rec room to our room. He kicked the door out of the way and set me down gently on the mattress, before standing to put the door back in place. Kneeling down on the mattress next to me, he asked, "Are you okay?"

I exhaled loudly and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just needed to get out there. The thought of Kyle being used as a host body… it was truly sickening."

He nodded, and I flopped over onto my stomach, sighing. Tentatively, he reached out with his hands and began to massage my back much as he had that first night. I moaned into the pillow in content. "Jer?" I said, looking up, my blue eyes meeting his green ones.

"Hmmm?" he said, smiling down at me.

"I love you," I told him, propping myself up on one elbow.

His green eyes widened in surprise, but the rest of his face betrayed no other emotions. "I l-love you, too," he managed to stutter out. His eyes probed mine for a moment, before he hooked a finger under my chin, drawing my face slightly closer to his. He pressed his lips to mine softly once, before pulling away slightly. I reached up with a hand and cupped the back of his head, bringing his face back to mine. "I told Ian about us," I told him softly.

He grimaced slightly, drawing a bit closer to me, his lips a mere breath away from mine. "How'd he take it?"

"He's not happy, but he's willing to accept it," I told him. "Besides, he doesn't really have much of a right to tell me what to do. I'll be eighteen soon. It's just… hard for him. Because when we first split up, you and I were only twelve, and now we're seventeen. It's a bit too sudden for him to get used to instantly."

"I understand," he replied, his breath washing over my face.

Unable to resist any longer, I leaned forward slightly and closed the gap between the two of us. He inhaled sharply in response, and he ran his tongue along the seam of my lips. I opened my mouth to him, moaning as his tongue clashed with mine. My hands came to rest on his sculpted chest, and his muscles shivered beneath my touch. He propped himself up on one elbow as well, as his other hand wandered down to my waist. Finally, he pulled away, panting and breathless. "What do you think we're going to do?" I murmured against his lips.

"Hmmm?" he replied, looking confused and pressing a kiss on the corner of my mouth. My breath hitched as he moved to plant a kiss near my ear. "What are you talking about, Liz?"

"About Evan and Tony," I replied. "The souls have their families."

"I know," he frowned, pulling away slightly. "I feel bad for them. I can't even imagine how terrible it would be to lose everyone you care about. I mean… I've never lost you."

I grinned sheepishly and blushed deeply at his admission. "I'm still hocked off because they tried to kill Andy and Kyle," I said, "but I honestly think we should go on a raid to try to get their families back."

"That's probably best," he replied. "I'm sure that's what Jeb will do. He's a good guy."

I nodded, my lips brushing against his again. He exhaled loudly and kissed my nose, before rolling over onto his back. Smiling to myself, I snuggled up to him, pillowing my head on his chest. "I love you," he told me, and I felt his chest vibrating beneath my head as he spoke.

"I love you, too," I replied, and he reached up with a grunt to press a kiss to my hair.

Just then, there was a knock at our door. "Jeremy? Elizabeth?"

It was Ian. I stood up from the mattress and straightened my clothes out and fixed my hair; Ian would not appreciate knowing that we had just finished making out. I slid open the door and grinned, "Hey, bro."

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking concerned as he drew me to him for a quick hug. "I saw Jeremy pick you up and leave, so I got kind of worried."

"I'm fine," I told him. "Just… the idea of Kyle being used as a host body was a really sickening thought. I needed to get the hell out of there."

"Understandable," he said, nodding his head.

"I hope you didn't leave the tribunal early just to check on me," I said, frowning. "You were my first choice for breaking news."

"No, I didn't," he replied. "I figured you had Jeremy to take care of you, if you really needed help." His blue eyes darted past me into the darkness of my cave, and, upon seeing Jeremy, he flashed him a grin. I sighed softly in relief. It seemed Ian was used to the idea of Jeremy and me as a couple. At least he wouldn't be strangling him anytime soon.

"So what's the news?" I asked him, leaning against the edge of the opening to my cave.

"We're going to go on a raid to try to rescue their families," he told me, sighing and running a hand anxiously through his black hair.

"Told you," I called back to Jeremy cheerfully. "Who's going?"

"Jared, because he always brings everyone back alive, Melanie and me, because Jared needs the man power, and Wanda, because she can get us supplies and provide cover for us if we really need it," he listed off, screwing up his eyes as he concentrated to remember it all.

"I wanna come!" I said eagerly.

Ian's blue eyes tightened and his hands clenched into fists. "No, Elizabeth. I spent the last five years thinking you were dead, I'm not going to actually let that happen."

"But you just said that Jared always brings everyone back alive! Besides, Jeremy and I spent five years surviving by ourselves. We can take care of ourselves."

"It's not the same, Elizabeth," he said, looking as though I were testing his patience.

Good.

He continued, "The Seekers aren't the same as all the other souls, they'll capture you and-"

"I know what they'll do, Ian," I told him firmly. My blue eyes meeting his matching ones, I said softly, "I was alone when the Seekers came after me with Mom again."

"What?" he gaped at me.

"Jeremy had gone to… relieve himself. I was alone, and I fought them off all by myself. And Jeremy. Have you forgotten that the day you, Kyle, him, and me were separated that he was alone? He fought off a horde of Seekers by himself as well," I told him. "Ian, we can help. We're resourceful, we can handle ourselves."

"I don't know…" he said uncertainly, his voice trailing off, and I could tell that he was close to caving in.

"Ian… don't forget that I spent the last five years thinking you were dead, too. I don't want to spend days worrying about you," I said, letting my eyes well up with tears.

He sighed heavily, and ran a hand through his hair again. "All right."

I had to fight the urge to grin.

Score.

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

A few days later, Jared, Melanie, Ian, Wanda, Jeremy, and me were all piled into the car, happily on our way to Chicago, where Evan and Tony had said their families were being held. Melanie hadn't been too happy about having to go back to the same city where she was captured, but Jared reassured her that nothing would happen to her this time. Though they had fought against it stubbornly, Jeb made Evan and Tony stay back at the caves, carefully guarded by Aaron and Brandt. He said that he didn't trust them near the souls, knowing that they were probably willing to do absolutely anything to save their families.

Ian still wasn't pleased with the idea of Jeremy and me coming along on the raid, but once Jeb agreed to let us go, there wasn't much he could do. Kyle hadn't been much happier about it either, but he was still bedridden, seeing as Doc was hovering over him like a concerned mother bird. Wanda, Ian, Jeremy, and I were all crammed into the back seat like sardines, seeing as Ian refused to leave my side or Wanda's side, and Jeremy refused to leave mine. I was sitting in between Ian and Jeremy, with Wanda on Ian's other side.

Leaning forward so that she could catch my gaze past Ian, she flashed me a grin and rolled her eyes, almost as if saying, "Men."

I nodded and snorted, agreeing with her. This drew Jeremy's attention, and he glanced sideways at me, smiling. He draped his arm over my shoulders and said, "Enjoying the ride?"

"Sure," I nodded my head. "But it'd be much more enjoyable if I wasn't squished back here."

"I'm not leaving your side while we're out here," Ian protested, glaring at me.

"And neither am I," Jeremy vowed.

Now glaring at Jeremy, Ian said, "And I'm not leaving Wanda's side either."

"Stop treating us like we're porcelain dolls," I retorted. Glancing at Wanda, I added, "Though I can understand wanting to protect her."

"Thanks for your help, Elizabeth," she said sarcastically. "What happened to 'my brother's overprotective?'"

"It's true, but I just don't think you're that safe out here," I told her, shrugging.

"Okay, stop arguing," Jeremy told me, squeezing my shoulder gently. Hooking a finger under my chin, he forced me to face him, pressing his lips to mine in a soft, slow kiss.

"Oh, get a room!" Ian told use balefully.

From the front passenger seat, I heard Melanie groan, "Jared, are we there yet?"


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Hey, everyone

**A/N: Hey, everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I've been trying to work this chapter out in my head. Anyway, I still own nothing. And, as always, reviews are appreciated! Enjoy! **

Chapter 7

Elizabeth's POV

"I hope she's okay."

I glanced sideways at Ian, who kept running a hand through his black hair, a nervous habit of his that I recognized from his early adolescence. Wanda had only been gone for about half an hour, but I feared that if she didn't come back soon, Ian's hair would start to grey prematurely. "She's fine, Ian," I said patiently, fighting the urge to snap at my brother. I knew how much he worried about Wanderer. "She's a soul, and the other souls won't be suspicious of her at all. She'll be _fine_."

"Right," Ian murmured, sounding as if he was trying to convince himself that I was correct. "You're right."

Sighing, I decided to busy myself with talking to Jeremy instead. "So," I said, "having fun?"

He smiled at me and chuckled. "Sure. If watching your brother fuss over Wanda counts as fun."

"He's such a twat sometimes," I replied, rolling my blue eyes and grimacing. "I'm just kidding. He's just very protective."

"Overprotective," Jeremy corrected me, a twinkle in his green eyes.

"Hey!" I protested, feeling the need to defend my brother. "I think it's sweet."

"Oh, so you want _me_ to be that protective of _you_?" he said, raising his eyebrows at me and pretending to look thoughtful.

"Okay, I take it back, that'd be annoying," I said, laughing. Resting my head on his shoulder, I muttered, "I love you."

"Love you, too, Elizabeth," he replied, bending his head down to press a kiss to my black hair.

Just then, Ian's anxious voice broke through our Hallmark moment. "Do you think she'll remember the plan?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes, turning to face him. "Ian, we went over the goddamn plan about two thousand times with her. Of course she'll remember it."

He nodded and bit his lip worriedly. The plan was for Wanda to pretend to be a Healer, using one of the uniforms we had acquired when extracting souls that were Healers from their host bodies. She was going to ask to see Evan and Tony's families, under the pretense that she was going to make sure they would make suitable hosts, if the situation called for it. Then she was going to sneak them out. If anyone asked, she was taking them outside to get some fresh air, because it was good for host bodies. She'd bring them to us and we'd bring them back to the caves and back to Evan and Tony.

"I don't know," he finally muttered. "The plan was a bit complicated, and she's not very good at lying."

"First of all, she's done it before," I pointed out, recalling that Jared had recounted to me how she had stolen medicine from a hospital for Jamie. "Second of all, the other souls won't suspect a thing. It's not in their nature."

He murmured something incoherent under his breath and ran a hand through his hair again, so I turned away from him, rolling my eyes, something I seemed to be doing a lot. "Well, my brother's having a major meltdown," I announced to everyone else in the car, which consisted of Jeremy, Jared, and Mel.

"What else is new?" Melanie snorted. "He's always been a worrier when it comes to Wanda."

"She doesn't worry enough about herself," Ian snapped, fire flaring briefly in his blue eyes. "I need to worry enough for the both of us."

"Chill out," I told him firmly, grabbing his shoulders. "Wanderer is going to be fine, okay, Ian?"

"What about me?" a voice asked. It was Wanda, and she had a trail of humans following her.

"Wanderer!" Ian cried joyfully, leaping out of the car to hug her and kiss her cheek. Some of the humans behind her looked confused, others looked absolutely disgusted.

"You all are human!" a teenage boy cried, looking at us incredulously. "How can you help a parasite? He's human! How can he… she's a _worm_!"

Ian opened his mouth, but I didn't want the boy to ruin his moment with Wanda. I leapt out of the car and stood in front of the boy who had spoken, glaring at him balefully and folding my arms across my chest. "Shut the hell up, jackass," I told him, my tone cold and clipped. "Wanderer's done more for us than you can even begin to imagine. I'll give you some time to get used to the idea, but for now, keep your mouth shut, or I'll be forced to kick the shit out of you."

He rolled his eyes. "You aren't much of a threat, little one."

I bit back a snarl and said, "How old do you think you _are_?"

"I'm sixteen," he said arrogantly, assuming that I was younger than he was because I was short.

"Well, I seventeen, dickhead," I spat back. "Get in the car before I change my mind and let the other souls use you as a host."

"They wouldn't let you," he said arrogantly, jerking at Jeremy, Jared, and Mel in the car.

"Oh yes we would," Jared sniped back, glaring at the boy. "What's your name, assface?"

"Zack," he said. "Zack Williams."

"Figures," I said, rolling my eyes. "Now get in the car."

Zack mumbled something under his breath, but got in the car, the other humans following him. There were five of them in total, making sitting in the jeep a very uncomfortable situation, since there were now eleven of us. "Um, Jared?" Jeremy said.

"Yeah, Richards?" Jared asked, turning to face Jeremy as he turned the key in the ignition.

"I'd greatly appreciate it if we could perhaps… make a pit stop before we got going," Jeremy said, blushing slightly.

I groaned. "Of all the boys to fall in love with."

Jeremy managed to flash me a half-hearted glare as Jared replied, "Sure, kid. Go in that house across the street. It's empty."

"Is anyone watching?" Mel asked, never too careful.

"No, no one is," Jared replied.

He didn't see the soul in the house next to the one Jeremy was headed to, watching the whole scene from his window and dialing a number into his phone.

But then again, none of us did.

Wanda's POV

I knew something was wrong when I heard sirens pierce the air, not too far off in the distance.

All the humans in the car started to panic, except for Jared, Mel, Ian, and Elizabeth. "Play it cool, everyone," Jared muttered, doing his best to sound soothing. "If push comes to shove, Wanda can talk us out of it. And if she can't, there's a whole bunch of cyanide pills back there."

I gulped at the mention of cyanide, hating the thought of all the humans in the car committing suicide, not to mention myself. I wouldn't want to continue life, not if Ian and everyone else I ever loved was dead.

Soon, the Seekers' cars came into view, but instead of pulling into the parking lot we were in as we had all expected, the pulled into the driveway of a house across the street.

The house Jeremy was in.

"No!" Elizabeth shrieked, jumping out of the car and running toward the house.

"Elizabeth!" Ian called, following in her footsteps. He cast a glance back at me, as if to ask permission to follow her, and I nodded quickly. I wouldn't let him lose his sister again, especially since it was my kind that took her from him in the first place. He continued running, taking large strides with his long legs. Surprisingly, Elizabeth managed to stay just out of reach, despite her short legs, for she was running at a breakneck pace.

We all waited on bated breath, watching as Elizabeth ran to the large window on one side of the house. She stared into it for a few moments, then curled up into a ball on the ground. That was where Ian reached her, and he bent down to her level, whispering in her ear. We were much too far away to hear what he was saying unless he had been shouting, so we merely watched as he gathered her up into his arms, much like he used to do to me, and began to carry her across the street, running back to us. When he finally reached us, he climbed into the car next to me and sat down again, still cradling his younger sister in his arms. When I peered down at her face, I was surprised to see that she was crying hysterically, tears pouring from her blue eyes at an alarming rate. I noticed that the other humans (minus Jared and Melanie) were gaping at her quite rudely. I glared at them as best as I could, and Elizabeth, noticing their gazes as well, promptly buried her face in her brother's chest.

I sighed and bit my lip, hating seeing her like this. Ian met my gaze, and I saw pain reflected in his own blue eyes. It was killing him, seeing his sister like this. And knowing him, I knew that he wanted desperately to say or do something that would make her feel at least a little bit better.

But what could he say?

RRRRRRRRRR

Three months later, Elizabeth was just as heartbroken as she was that day. She hadn't cried since that first day, but it almost seemed like a part of her died when she lost Jeremy. I hadn't thought it possible before, but Ian and Kyle were even more protective of her. Everyday, she somehow managed to put on this mask of tranquility, her face betraying none of the emotions that I knew had to be raging around inside of her.

I mean, I'd be absolutely devastated if I lost Ian. So I couldn't even imagine how she was feeling, having lost her best friend and partner all in one go.

Her face was calm, but whenever I glanced in her eyes, which reminded me so much of Ian's, I saw nothing but pain and heartbreak in them. I hated seeing her like this, and did whatever I could to cheer her up, but all my efforts were in vain.

Jared was silent around her, but I knew he felt bad for not bringing everyone back alive like he usually did. I could tell that he felt extremely bad, and that he wanted to say something to her, but he had no idea how to even begin to apologize, so he kept his mouth shut, for fear of making it worse.

Melanie was just as comforting as I was, and she understood Elizabeth's human emotions a bit better than I did. Sure, I felt human emotions, but it didn't mean I understood them at all.

It killed Ian to see Elizabeth hurt. Like me, he knew that she was hurting, even if she never let on, but he didn't know what to do or how to console her. Kyle felt the same way, and he always got a pained expression on his face whenever she was brought up in conversation.

Evan and Tony's families had their joyful reunion, apologized for trying to kill Andy and Kyle, and they were now living with us in the caves. Tony's family consisted of Tracy, his wife, and Julia, his fifteen-year old daughter. Julia had become quite good friends with Jamie over the past few months, and it was now rare to see one of them without the other. Tracy was one of the kindest humans I'd ever met, other than Ian of course, and she accepted far more easily than I had expected.

Evan's family consisted of Laura, his wife, Zack, his son, and Anna, his six-year old daughter. Anna was truly a joy to have in the caves; she brought such happiness to everyone. As an added bonus, Freedom and Isaiah now had someone else to play with. Laura was just as kind to me as Tracy, she was just a little shier.

Zack, despite his first encounter with Elizabeth, developed a crush on her, as Ian put it. He constantly following her around and trying to flirt with her.

At least, that's what Mel called his behavior.

However, his attitude toward me did not change, though he kept quiet around Elizabeth.

Elizabeth still remember their first encounter and spurned Zack's every advance on her. Though she was usually quite mean when she went about it, it was usually quite comical, I have to admit. She avoided him whenever she could, but it wasn't always possible in our small community.

Everything seemed to be going back to normal, but I was proven wrong one day about four and half months after the raid.

I was in the kitchen helping Lily, Melanie, and Trudy make dinner, when Ian burst in, a frantic look plastered on his face. "Where's Elizabeth?" he asked urgently, running a hand through his hair.

"She's working in the fields," I replied quickly. "Ian, what's wrong?"

"Wanda," he started, but then he said, "Oh, you're no good at lying, she'll see right through you." Addressing Melanie, he said, "Mel? I know you don't like me that much, but can you please do me a huge favor?"

"Sure," she sighed, brushing flour from her hands. "What is it, O'Shea?"

"Can you keep Elizabeth in the fields no matter what? She has to stay there," he said, a pleading tone entering his face.

Melanie exchanged glances with me as she said, "Sure. I'll get right on it. But you owe me, O'Shea."

He nodded tensely, but looked extremely relieved. "Ian, what's wrong?" I repeated.

He opened his mouth to answer me, but he didn't need to, because a familiar person burst through the door into the kitchen, saying, "Where is Elizabeth?"

Jeremy was back.

There was just one problem.

_His eyes were reflective_.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Sorry, this would've been up Monday night, but, if you've checked my profile, my computer is having issues

**A/N: Sorry, this would've been up Monday night, but, if you've checked my profile, my computer is having issues. It's taken a bit to get this temporary replacement up and running. Anyway, I still own nothing. Reviews are always appreciated, enjoy! **

Chapter 8

Wanderer's POV

"Jeremy?"

His name escaped from my lips before I could stop myself. When I realized what I had said, I clapped my hand over my mouth in horror.

"Jeremy is my host," he replied, looking perplexed, and I could tell he was taking in the way that my eyes shone in the light. He was clearly surprised to find another soul living amongst humans. "My name is Carves the Ice."

"Oh," I said. "A Bear."

He nodded his head, and then glanced anxiously at Ian, saying, "Where's Elizabeth?"

I risked a glance at Ian, whose jaw was clenched so tightly I feared he would hurt himself. He was trying very hard not to be angry with Carver, as she called the soul in her head, because he knew how much I hated anger. "I'm sorry," Ian said, laughing mirthlessly, "but do you honestly think I'm going to let her see you?"

"I won't hurt her, I swear," Carver said, a pleading tone entering his voice. "I _love _her."

Ian exchanged a surprised glance with me. So being in his host body had caused him to fall in love with Elizabeth, just as I had fallen in love with Jeremy. "Can I call you 'Carver'?" I asked, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen upon the three of us. It seemed Lily and Trudy had vacated the kitchen when they realized what was going on.

"Sure," he said, seeming happy that I had given him a nickname, almost as if it made him feel more comfortable with where he was.

"It's just a lot less of a mouthful than Carves the Ice," I told him, using that as my explanation. "Carver, I can understand that you want to see her badly."

He nodded, saying, "I came all this way just to see her. I won't hurt you all, I swear."

"Oh, we know that," Ian said, sounding surprisingly calm. He even managed to flash me a small smile, and I knew he was doing the best he could. "If you wanted to, you would've brought a legion of Seekers with you. But I still can't let her see you."

"Ian, please!" Carver begged. Seeing Ian's shocked look at the use of his name, he explained, "I have all his memories."

"Okay, Carver," Ian said slowly, and Carver visibly brightened at Ian's use of his nickname. "You have to try to understand that Elizabeth loved Jeremy. She loved your host. And seeing someone else in him… it'll kill her. And I won't have that."

Carver sighed, running a hand through his hair like Jeremy used to do. "I understand," he muttered. "I never should've come here." He turned on his heel to leave, but before he could, Elizabeth burst into the room, followed quickly by Mel.

"I'm so sorry, Ian," Mel panted, glaring at Elizabeth. "I did my best to keep her in the fields, but when she saw someone run past, she refused. She's a right fighter, she is."

Meanwhile, Elizabeth gaped at Carver. Finally, she came to her senses and hugged Carver tightly, squealing, "Jeremy! You're alive! I can't believe it!"

I felt my heart breaking as I realized that she had no clue what was going on.

Carver looked heartbroken as he said, "I'm so sorry, Elizabeth. But I'm not Jeremy."

Her blue eyes, which she had squeezed shut when she hugged him, flew open and grew as wide as saucers. She pulled away from him, looking horrified for a moment, before she turned on her heel and fled from the kitchen. "Elizabeth, wait!" Carver called. "Come back!"

Ian sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I better go check on her."

I nodded, and he kissed me sweetly on the forehead before he left, following the path his sister had taken. "Mel," I said, addressing the girl who was still standing there, watching us curiously, "can you give us a moment alone?"

"Yeah, sure," she said slowly. "I'll see you around, Wanda."

She left, leaving me to deal with Carver alone. "Why won't she talk to me?" he whimpered, still looking absolutely crushed.

"Carver," I said slowly, thinking of how to best word my explanation, "have you been a human before?"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "Before this I was a Bear."

"So you haven't been a human for very long, correct?" I said, and he nodded. I continued, "Well, you know how strong human emotions are."

"Oh, yes," he moaned, sounding miserable. "They're so intense, so overwhelming! Seeing his memories, feeling what he felt… I couldn't help myself. I fell in love with her."

"I know the feeling," I told him dryly. Hesitantly, mostly because I was afraid of the answer, I asked him, "Carver? Is your host still in there? Is… Jeremy still there?"

He sighed. "I don't really know. He was the first day, and he fought back so hard. After that… he kind of gave up. But I don't know, I have this feeling that he is still here.

It was my turn to sigh, as I murmured, "Well, that's better than nothing."

"What about you?" he said, looking up at me with shining green eyes. I was shocked to realize how much it hurt to see someone else look at me from Jeremy's eyes, despite the fact that I hadn't known him for that long. It must be infinitely worse for Elizabeth, who had known him nearly all her life, and who had been in love with him. I couldn't even begin to imagine how much pain she must have been experiencing. "How'd you get here? What's your story?"

His voice snapped me out of my reverie, and I chuckled, and began leading him to the game room, so we could talk without any interruptions. "Well, Carver, it's a long story."

RRRRRRRRRRR

Elizabeth's POV

I hadn't returned to the cave I once shared with Jeremy since the day he was captured, instead choosing to spend my nights with Anna and Julia, who shared a cave. However, the place I felt the safest was Wanda and Ian's cave. So, naturally, that was the first place I thought to go when I fled the kitchen.

I had felt so happy when I saw Jeremy's body… the naïve part of me actually dared to hope that it was actually him, that he was actually okay. When I finally realized that it wasn't him, that he had been used as a host, that _someone else_ was staring back at me from those green eyes, it was like losing him all over again. I thought I had the world, no, my world, back for a few moments, and then I had it all wiped out from under me again. I finally collapsed onto the mattress in their cave, sobbing heavily.

A few moments after I arrived, I heard the door slide open, and I knew who it was before he even spoke. It was Ian, of course. Who else would come after me? I felt his hand on my back almost as soon as the door was shut again, saying, "Elizabeth… are you okay?"

"What the hell do you think?" I murmured. "No, I'm not okay."

"Yeah, I guess that was a stupid question, huh?" Ian chuckled, wrapping his arms around me protectively. "Are you _going_ to be okay?"

"Eventually, yeah," I said, turning to face him and burying my head in his chest. "Ian," I whispered, my voice sounding broken even to my own ears.

I hated that.

I continued anyway, saying, "I loved him so much. I still do."

"I know, Elizabeth," he murmured, pressing a brotherly kiss to my black hair. "I know you do." Pulling slightly away from me, he said, "I understand if you don't want to see him. You don't have to if you don't want to. I'll keep him away from you."

"Actually, if you don't mind…" I replied after a few moments of thought, "I'd like to talk to him."

"Are you sure?" he asked me, his blue eyes growing wide in his surprise. "Don't feel like you have to, Elizabeth. No one's going to make you, if you don't want to."

"No, I want to," I said, trying for forceful, but only managing uncertain.

"Okay," Ian said slowly, getting up, but not before giving me another brotherly kiss on my forehead. "I'll go fine him."

About twenty minutes later, Jeremy's body slid open the door and came to sit on the mattress, a good two feet away from me. "Hi," I muttered, keeping my eyes trained on my hands in my lap. "I'm Elizabeth."

"I know," he replied, his voice strong and clear. His voice was still the same as ever, and I choked back a sob. "I'm Carves the Ice, but you can call me Carver."

"Carver," I said slowly, trying to get used to the idea. "How did you know who I was?"

"I have all of Jeremy's memories," he replied softly. "_All_ of them."

"Oh," I said, understanding his meaning and blushing.

"I came all this way to see you," he told me honestly. Well, it wasn't like he had any other option; lying wasn't in their nature. "I… you probably don't want to hear this, but I… I love you."

"You're right," I replied, laughing dryly, "I didn't want to hear that."

"Oh," he said softly. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I sighed, finally looking up at him, seeing his green eyes shine and reflect the light. "I suppose it's not your fault. It's not like you yourself chose Jeremy as your host."

"No, I didn't," he replied, shaking his head vigorously. "After being inserted into him, I-I realized that I'm taking someone else's life… and it isn't right."

I managed to smile faintly at him, and I managed to make it out even in the darkness of the cave because he smiled broadly back at me. "I know it's not your fault," I whispered softly into the darkness. "But it still kind of hurts to see someone else in his body, so please don't take it personally if I start acting weird, like crying or something."

"Okay," he said agreeably.

"I have a question for you, Carver," I said, and now that I was actually looking at him, I could see that he brightened visibly whenever I used his name. I sighed to myself, realizing that he was truly in love with me. "Is… is Jeremy still in there?"

"Wanderer already asked me this," he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Just like Jeremy used to do. I choked back another sob. "The answer is… I think so. He was there the first day, and he fought extremely hard. But then he seemed to… give up. I'm pretty sure he's still here though."

I sighed loudly, trying to decide what to do. "What did he say? When he was there? Why did he give up?"

"He didn't say a whole lot, other than screaming at me to get out," he murmured in reply. "He was wondering where you were. He wondered why you didn't come after him."

This time, I was unable to restrain my sob and Carver looked up at me with concern written all over his face. He reached out a hand, as if to comfort me, but drew it back hastily. Through my tears, I managed to choke out, "I didn't come after him, because by the time I reached the house, the Seekers already had him. He was already knocked out, and I knew it was too late to do anything."

Carver nodded, and I could tell he that my crying was upsetting him, so I attempted to stifle the flow of my tears. "As for why he gave up," he continued, "I think it's because he was convinced that you were dead."

"So he's hasn't spoken to you since that first day?" I asked, just for clarification.

Carver nodded, and that sealed my decision.

I mean, what was the point in taking Carver out if we weren't even sure that Jeremy was still there? I figured that if anything would bring Jeremy back, it would be his host body spending time with me, and I didn't want to do anything drastic until I was sure that Jeremy was really there.

So Carver would stay. For now.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: You know the drill… anything you recognize from the original book is not mine

**A/N: You know the drill… anything you recognize from the original book is not mine. It belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Anyway, please read, review, and enjoy! **

Chapter 9

Elizabeth's POV

Several weeks went by without a hitch. Carver assimilated himself into our little community, and he shared a cave with Aaron and Brandt. I spent as much time as possible with him, hoping to get Jeremy to rouse himself, wherever he was, and also getting to know Carver.

He and I actually became quite good friends, despite the circumstances. It still hurt… seeing him in Jeremy's body, but he was still a good person. He was an amazing listener, and though I knew he struggled with getting used to human emotions, he did his best to understand mine, no matter what they may be. At times, seeing Jeremy's body was just too much, and I would randomly burst out into tears. After the first couple times this happened, he realized why I was crying, and he would leave, sending Ian, Kyle, Melanie, or Wanda after me.

Our relationship was complicated, mostly on my end. I knew that Carver loved me, but that he felt guilty for replacing Jeremy. Despite my reservations, Carver was now one of my most trusted friends. At times, I felt guilty for that, almost as if I was obligated to hate the soul that had taken Jeremy's body. However, I couldn't bring myself to believe that Jeremy would be so spiteful. Besides, any anger I ever managed to muster up against Carver disappeared almost as soon as the next time he spoke to me. He was such a kind and gentle being, as all souls are, but something made him different, something made him like Wanda, like Sunny.

_He loved humans._

He truly realized how horrible it was for us to lose ourselves, our family, and our friends to the souls, and he regretted the way of life his species required.

So as the weeks wore on, Carver and I became better friends.

As the weeks wore on, I also began to worry about Jeremy.

One particular morning, I woke up later than usual, having had trouble falling asleep the night before. I was woken by the sound of the door to the cave sliding open. "Good morning, Elizabeth," a voice murmured, sitting down on the mattress next to me.

Jeremy's voice. Carver.

Sometimes, it was still hard to tell my friend Carver from my partner Jeremy. When Carver spoke, I heard Jeremy's voice, but I knew the words were Carver's. Whenever I looked at his face, I saw Jeremy's face, but I knew the expressions on it were Carver's. It confused me to no end.

"What time is it?" I asked, sitting up in bed and yawning and stretching.

"About an hour past the time you usually wake up," he replied, and for the first time, I noticed that he was holding a bowl of cereal that Wanda had picked up on a recent raid. "I brought you breakfast."

"Thanks, Carver," I said brightly, taking the bowl from him and eagerly spooning the cereal into my mouth. He watched me intently, a smile playing on his lips, and his amusement at my enthusiasm was obvious. "What have I missed?"

"Nothing, really," he replied with a shrug. "Ian and Kyle just demanded me to tell them where you were as soon as I entered the kitchen. I looked for you just about everywhere before I came here, because I didn't think you could still be asleep."

"Ugh," I groaned, quickly polishing off what was left in the bowl. "I had trouble falling asleep last night."

"Really?" he asked, concern etched across his handsome face. Jeremy's face. No, Carver's face. No, Jeremy's!

I sighed. It was getting far too complicated for my mind to handle less than an hour after I woke up.

"Why?" he pressed, noticing the pained expression on my face.

"Do you want a lie or the truth?" I asked, already knowing what the answer would be.

"The truth," he answered without hesitation, his green eyes boring into my blue ones.

"I'm getting really worried about Jeremy," I replied softly, refusing him to look him in the eye now. "I mean… shouldn't your spending all this time with me wake him up, or whatever?"

"I don't know, Elizabeth," Carver responded softly. "I've never been in this position before, so I'm probably not the best person to ask."

Upon hearing his words, an idea occurred to me, one so blatantly obvious that I wondered how I hadn't stumbled upon the idea before. "That gives me an idea," I murmured, standing and brushing myself off. "Sorry to bail on you, Carver, but I've got to go."

"That's okay," he called to me as I stepped into the hallway. "I'll see you later in the fields."

RRRRRRRR

I found Wanda in the kitchen, trying to lift a huge bin of dishes. Rolling my eyes at her stubbornness, I quickly approached her, taking the bin from her, and saying, "Let me get that for you, Wanderer."

"Oh, you don't have to, Elizabeth," she protested as I began to walk toward the stream.

"But I want to," I replied. Lowering my voice, I added, "Wanda, I also need to talk to you. We might as well get some work done while we do."

"Okay," she said agreeably, apparently accepting my explanation. When we finally reached the stream, she squatted down by it and began to wash dishes, and I followed suit. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Wanda, when you and Mel were sharing her body, were there ever times when she… disappeared for a while?" I asked, hoping that I wasn't prying. She winced slightly, as if remembering something painful. "I'm sorry if I'm asking something that I shouldn't be. I probably wouldn't have asked you, if it weren't for… Jeremy."

"No, no, it's fine, Elizabeth," she reassured me. "Yes, there were. Why do you ask?"

"I'm starting to get worried," I admitted softly. Other than Carver, I hadn't been able to bring myself to admit that to anyone else. Everyone else seemed so convinced that the situation was hopeless for Jeremy, and as his partner, I felt compelled to look on the bright side of things. "It's been nearly two months now; shouldn't Carver's spending all this time with me make Jeremy alert?"

"I don't know," Wanda replied. "Every person is different." Changing the subject, she said, "You and Carver have been spending a lot of time together."

Smiling slightly, I replied, "Yeah, we have. At first, I was only doing it in the hopes of bringing Jeremy back. But now… Carver's my friend. It's so confusing though, him having Jeremy's body."

"I know what you mean," she said slowly, nodding her head. I sighed, happy that I had made the decision to speak to Wanda. She was so understanding, so helpful. Of course, I had Ian and Kyle, too, but neither of them had been in this situation before. There was always Jared, but he didn't strike me as the kind of person who would be willing to have a heart-to-heart conversation with me.

That was one situation I'd like to avoid.

"I better go," I said, after helping Wanda through half of the bin of dishes. "I'm supposed to be working in the fields."

Just as I was standing, Wanda suddenly turned to face me, an excited expression plastered over her beautiful face. "Wait!" she said. "I just remembered something."

"Yes?" I said eagerly, squatting down next to her again. "What is it?"

"The one time Melanie disappeared for an alarming amount of time, I got your brother to kiss me," she said, sounding happy.

Wrinkling my nose, I said, "Ew. Too much information. But… what does that have to do with anything?"

"I noticed that Melanie had more strength whenever she was overwhelmed," she explained. "And she hated it when Ian kissed me, because she was in love with Jared. When that didn't work, Ian went and got Jared, and when Jared kissed me, Melanie came back."

"That's a great idea, Wanda!" I told her brightly. "Thanks for all your help."

"No problem, Elizabeth," she told me, smiling. "I hope it all works out for the best."

RRRRRRR

By the time I finally got Carver alone that day, it was no longer day. It was nighttime, and I caught him on his way back from the kitchen. "Hey, Carver, can I talk to you?" I said, casting my eyes about the hallways nervously.

"Sure," he said, his eyes brightening at my proposition.

Surprisingly, I actually felt guilty, knowing how much he loved me, and that I could never love him back. It had nothing to do with the fact that he was a soul; it was the fact that I was already in love with Jeremy, and that he was in Jeremy's body.

Quickly and stealthily, I pulled him into the game room and said, "Carver, I have a favor I need to ask of you."

"Sure, Elizabeth," he said readily. "Anything for you."

Holding up my hand, I said, "Don't agree to it until you at least hear what I'm asking of you."

"Sure," he said, looking slightly amused, "but I'm still going to say 'yes.'"

I rolled my eyes, but said, "I talked to Wanda about you and Jeremy's situation." Even in the darkness, I could see him nod his head. "She said there was one time while she and Mel were sharing a body that Melanie disappeared for a long time. That was when she kissed my brother, to try to overwhelm Mel, which usually gave her strength."

"So you want me to kiss someone? Like Julia?" he asked, his brows knitting together in confusion.

"No," I said patiently, realizing that if this was harder for someone besides me, it was harder for him. "It didn't work for Wanda. What worked was when she kissed Jared."

"Jared… whom Melanie was in love with," Carver said slowly, and I could practically see the wheels turning in his head. Jeremy's head. His head. Oh, screw it. "You want me to kiss you, because you think that will wake Jeremy up."

I nodded my head slowly. When Wanda first told me, I had thought it was an absolutely brilliant idea. But now that I had had the whole day to mull it over, I realized how horribly unfair it was to Carver. I wouldn't have felt all that guilty if he hadn't been in love with me. I mean, I'd be kissing him so I could wake up the man I truly loved! How unfair was that to Carver? "Listen," I said softly, "you don't have to do this if you don't want to. I realize how horribly unfair it is to you, and I won't be angry at you or hold this against you or anything if you refuse."

"No, of course I'll do it, Elizabeth," he replied quickly. "The only thing is… I'm not sure I know how to do this."

"What is there to it?" I asked, looking at him curiously. "We kiss for a while, perhaps make out, and then see what happens."

I could see him lower his head as he concentrating, probably searching through Jeremy's memories for help with understanding kissing and making out. "I don't even know what making out _is_," he said, sounding uncharacteristically frustrated. Somehow, that gave me some sort of twisted pleasure. He was becoming more and more human everyday. And if Jeremy did come back, though I'd be happy beyond words to have Jeremy, my Jeremy back, I'd be sad to see Carver go.

"Search through Jeremy's memories," I told him, confused as to why he hadn't already done this. "He knows what it is."

"I know the memories are there," Carver said, "but I can't get to them. It's almost like… Jeremy's keeping me away from them."

I brightened upon hearing this, saying, "That means he's still there."

"Yes, I'm sure he is," he told me, "but he's weak. He needs further encouragement if he's going to be strong enough. So we should do this now. It's just… I don't know what to do, Elizabeth. Jeremy may have kissed you before, but I've never kissed _anyone_ before. I don't know what to do."

"It's okay, Carver," I told him gently, reaching out and managing to grasp his shoulder with my hand with a minimal amount of fumbling. "Kissing and making out… it's kind of an instinct thing, you know? You'll be fine. Just… just go with whatever your instinct tells you."

"All right," he murmured, still sounding unsure. "Um… you start."

Chuckling, I leaned in toward him, tilting my head slightly to the side. Our breaths mingled for a few moments before I finally closed the remaining distance between our mouths, pressing my lips to his.

Carver seemed to freeze, his lips immobile under mine. I wrapped my arms around my neck and opened my mouth to him, hoping that would reawaken his instincts.

It did.

With a strangled growl of frustration in the back of his throat, he looped his arms possessively around my waist, crushing my body against his. His mouth opened as well, his lips moving against mine in the same rhythm. I kept darting my tongue in and out of his mouth, but he kept his well away from mine, almost as if he was unsure of what he should do.

Which was why I was surprised when, a few moments later, his tongue rushed to meet mine.

Carver pulled away from me hastily, breathless and looking shocked. "That wasn't me, I swear," he panted.

"What do you mean?" I asked sharply, sounding just as breathless as he was.

"I wasn't in control of my tongue for that moment," he replied. "That was him."

A conflicted look came upon his face, almost as if he was having an internal debate. "What is it?" I said, scrutinizing him intensely.

"He's yelling at me," he said, wincing. "He's so angry."

"He can see what you see, right? Hear what you hear?" I said, and Carver nodded. I pulled him out of the game room and into the hallway, where the lightning was slightly better. I seized his face with my hands, and said, "Jeremy? I know you're in there. Stop yelling at Carver for a minute, okay?"

Carver seemed to be listening to him for a moment, then, with a pained expression on his face, he said, "He says he loves you."

Smiling, I said, "I love you, too, Jer. We're going to help you, okay?"

"He says… he wants to know why you didn't come after him," Carver said, biting his lip nervously as he looked down at me.

I fought to keep the hurt expression off of my face, but nevertheless, I said, "By the time I realized what was happening and reached the house, the Seekers already had you. I wanted to go in and rescue you, but I knew it would be a suicide mission and Ian wouldn't let me. Please understand, Jeremy. It broke my heart."

Carver screwed up his eyes, before saying, "He says he understands. Now he wants to know why you were kissing me."

Chuckling slightly, I said, "It's kind of a long story, but, to put it briefly, I was trying to give you strength."

"He says it worked. He was angry at me," Carver said. "He's yelling at me again."

"Hey, stop that," I instructed, looking into Carver's/Jeremy's eyes sternly. "I know it's going to be hard for you to accept at first, but Carver's a friend. Like Wanda is, okay? Chill out. He's been helping me try to wake you up for the past two months. Be nice, okay?"

I watched as a faint grin grew on Carver's lips. "He's apologizing for yelling at me and being a… I don't want to say it."

"A son of a bitch?" I supplied, and Carver nodded. "What are you saying to him?"

"I'm telling him that it's going to be okay," he replied, "that I'm going to get myself out of here so that he can have his body back." He looked me sadly and said, "When they do take me out, can you please just make sure I'm not a Bear again? I really hated that."

I nodded and grinned, but then my grin faded as I realized what was going on. I was going to have to choose between one of my best friends and my partner. Of course, I couldn't let Jeremy be trapped forever, and I wanted him back more than anything else in the world. But that didn't mean that I wanted Carver to leave forever. Even if Carver ever returned to Earth, by the time he did, I'd be long dead. "Carver, are you sure?" I asked softly. "Don't get me wrong, I want Jeremy back more than anything else. But I don't want you to leave."

"There's no other way, Elizabeth," he said softly. "Can't you see? You can't have both me and Jeremy, and I know what your choice has to be. It's Jeremy, I've always known that. You've always loved him, and I never stood a chance. It's okay; I don't belong here. Even if you picked me, in some alternate universe or something, I couldn't let myself keep him trapped in here. He and I may not be the best of friends, but I won't let myself live as a parasite anymore. Not with humans, anyway."

I hung my head, knowing that there was no way to convince him. Then I noticed that he was laughing. "What?" I said.

"Jeremy's telling me that he and I could be best friends," he chuckled. "He says that he's taken a liking to me now, and that, though he really wants his body back, he's going to be sorry to see me go."

"Sounds like Jeremy," I said, feeling blissfully happy. Then I sighed. "I'm going to miss you, Carver."

"I'll miss you, too, Elizabeth," he murmured softly. "I don't think I'll ever love anyone like I love you."

"Carver, I'm pretty sure that's just the body," I told him, chuckling softly. "You'll get other chances to fall in love, just watch." He smiled and shook his head, but said nothing. "When do you want to do it?"

He thought about it for a moment, and I could practically see the resolve strengthening on his face as I watched. "Come on," he said, taking my hand and tugging me down the hall toward the hospital wing, "let's do this right now."


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I still own nothing

**A/N: I still own nothing. For all of you out there who think that this is just like "The Host," you're wrong. I know it **_**looks**_** like it's going to be just like it, but that's not going to happen. Also, I have a poll concerning this story, and your votes decide the outcome. It's on my profile, so please go vote. Anyway, reviews are always appreciated. Lastly, someone left me a review, saying that, in the book, a long-lost sister of Ian and Kyle was mentioned, and that her name was Magnolia. I'd confirm this myself, but I lent the book to one of my friends, who is, unfortunately, taking her sweet time reading it. So I'd appreciate it if someone could confirm this for me! Okay, I'm done now. :D Enjoy. **

Chapter 10

Elizabeth's POV

First, Carver made us stop by Ian and Wanda's cave. He made me wait outside for him, while he chatted with Ian about something. They purposefully kept their voices too low to be intelligible, and I could only wonder what they were talking about. Afterwards, Carver emerged from the room, looking relieved, and took my hand in his again as we headed for the hospital, Ian tagging along.

Still holding Carver's hand, I rapped my knuckles on the door to the hospital. "Doc?" I called hesitantly into the room.

"Elizabeth?" he called back, apparently still awake. "Come in, come in."

Carver and I stepped into the room, and I murmured, "Hello."

"Oh, hello, Carver, Iahn," Doc said upon spotting them. "I didn't see the two of you there." He smiled at the both of us cheerfully, then asked, "What can I do for you?"

I stared at the ground as Carver replied, "Jeremy's back."

"Oh," Doc said, looking pleasantly surprised. "Well, that's wonderful!"

"Yes, it is," Carver murmured, smiling and squeezing my hand in his.

"But that doesn't mean we won't miss you, Carver," Doc said, finally realizing the mistake of what he had said when he looked at the expression on my face. "So… when would you like to be… er, removed?"

"Right now," he replied calmly, extracting his fingers from mine. "Right now would be good."

Doc looked shocked. "Are you sure, Carver?"

"Carver, you don't have to do this right now," I mumbled, looking down at my shoes, which had never been more interesting than at that moment.

"I want to do it right now," he insisted. "Both Jeremy and Elizabeth have waited long enough."

I sighed in defeat, as Doc said, "All right, Carver. If you say so." He led carver to one of the operating tables, and said to me, "Elizabeth, could you please hand me the chloroform?"

I nodded and grabbed the canister next to me, tossing it to him. "Wait," I said, just as he was about to administer the chloroform to Carver. I made my way over to them and bent down over Carver, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "I'm going to miss you a whole hell of a lot."

"I'm going to miss you, too," he replied, his green eyes locking onto mine and staying there, even as Doc knocked him out. His eyes slowly slid shut and his breathing slowed. Doc turned him over onto his stomach and carefully made an incision tracing the scar on the back of his neck. The sight of blood didn't bother me one bit, but it was unnerving to see Jeremy's blood. Carver's blood. Oh, whatever.

Sensing my discomfort, Ian grasped my hand in his, squeezing it reassuringly. I leaned against my brother, grateful for his comforting presence. I couldn't see exactly what Doc was doing, but he was gently kneading the silver glimmer in the back of Jeremy's neck that I knew to be Carver. After a few nerve-wracking moments, he pulled him out, Carver held in his palm. "Here, take him," Doc told me softly, holding the hand with Carver's shiny form out to me. "He'd want you to."

I pulled my hand from Ian and curled it into a cup, taking my best friend into the palm of my hand. "He's so… beautiful," I whispered, staring down at him in an awed manner. "He makes me feel… plain."

"I know the feeling," Ian muttered, chuckling to himself and opening a cryotank for me. I slid Carver gently into the tank and closed it, cradling the tank in my arms.

Meanwhile, Doc was closing up the incision in the back of Jeremy's head and turning him over onto his back again. I carefully set Carver's cryotank down on the floor next to my feet as I stood by Jeremy's bedside, grasping his hand and murmuring encouraging words to him. "Jeremy…" I murmured into his ear, my lips brushing against it. "Come on. Come on, Jer, I need you."

I felt Doc's hand on my shoulder comfortingly. "It's okay, Elizabeth. It takes a while. Even Melanie took about half an hour to wake up."

I lost track of time easily, grasping Jer's hand tightly and whispering to him. So it could've been minutes later, it could've been hours later, hell, it could've been days later, I noticed him weakly squeezing my hand. My head snapped up, my eyes growing wide as I noticed that his green eyes were fluttering open. "Doc, he's waking up!" I said excitedly. "That's it, Jeremy. I'm here. Come on."

Doc grabbed a canister of something and sprayed it in Jeremy's face. I could see him becoming more alert as he inhaled whatever the spray was, and his green eyes fully opened. "Elizabeth," he murmured, his green eyes finding mine quickly.

"Jeremy," I said, sighing in relief. I leaned over him, pressing my lips to his. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," he muttered, "now that I'm not trapped. Though, I must say, I am sorry Carver had to go."

"Yeah, I miss him, too," I mumbled in reply. I didn't see it then, but Jeremy frowned. Helping him to sit up, I said, "It's so good to have you back."

"It's good to be back," he replied, smiling brightly. I pressed my lips to his again, relief and joy washing through me.

Just then, Wanda burst through the door to the hospital wing, looking frantic. "The Seekers found the humans!" she cried.

We all froze, gaping at her. "Calm down, Wanderer," Ian said, rushing to her and hugging her tightly. "What are you saying?"

"They found the other humans living nearby," she repeated.

"You mean the community that Burns is with?" Ian asked, pulling away from her slightly.

Wanda nodded, looked extremely frightened. "They've asked us for help, because they say they don't have enough people to fight them off."

"I'll go," Ian said, his jaw tightening.

I wanted to go, to help, to fight them off, but I didn't want to leave Jeremy by himself. He looked at me, and, as if reading my mind, said, "Go, Elizabeth. I've got Doc with me. I'll be fine."

"I'm coming, too," I said, pursing my lips. Ian opened his mouth as if to protest, but I glared at him so forcefully that he shut it again. "Let's go."

RRRRR

Wanderer's POV

After we rounded up five more people, I led them all to the entrance, and we snuck out discreetly and began running through the desert. There were seven fighters in total: Elizabeth, Ian, Kyle, Brandt, Aaron, Andy, and Jared. I led them to the mesa where the other humans were fighting off the Seekers as best as they could. "Stay here, Wanderer," Ian told me firmly, stopping me a good hundred feet or so from the actual fight. "I don't want you to get hurt, and you can help anyone if they get hurt or something."

I nodded, biting my lip as I watched him run off toward the fight in between his two siblings. I worried about all of them, but mostly about Ian and Elizabeth. Ian, because I couldn't live without him, and Elizabeth, because she was so young, and she had just gotten her partner back. How horrible would it be for her to die?

Wanting to keep myself occupied, I decided to count the number of humans and souls. There were about twelve humans total, including the ones from our community. There were about twenty Seekers. The fact that we were outnumbered worried me, but I remembered that the Seekers wouldn't _want_ to use violence against them, so they would have the upper hand. Then I caught sight of Elizabeth.

When she told me that she knew how to fight, I had assumed she was referring to the brute force that I had seen the men use to get their point across or to defend themselves. Of course, it was obvious that she was powerful. But she was so graceful. If I didn't see bodies crumpling around her, I would've thought she was dancing. Her fighting seemed to be one single fluid movement, and she was so fast that they barely had time to see it coming. Soon enough, they began hauling the host bodies of the knocked out Seekers toward me. "Ian!" I cried, throwing my arms around him joyfully. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Me too," he murmured, kissing me on the forehead. "We're going to remove these souls. But we better hurry, before they wake up."

I nodded and began leading them back, smiling happily to myself and humming.

We had won, and twenty humans would get a second chance at life.

Elizabeth POV

Jeremy and I sat in the kitchen after all the excitement, eating leftover spaghetti from the night before. We were sitting next to each other on the counter, and I was leaning against him heavily, having missed his presence in his absence. "So… while you were sharing your body with Carver… were you there the whole time?" I asked.

"The first few days I was," he replied. "I didn't talk to him after the first day, though. And then I kind of went into hibernation. But when he started spending all that time with you, I started becoming more and more alert. Last night, when he was trying to search through my memories for kissing and making out, I kept them from him on purpose. I don't know, I just felt like I didn't want him to see it. And then, when you kissed him… that _really_ woke me up."

"Like I said," I told him, "I was just trying to wake you up."

"Well, it worked," he chuckled. "Man. I do feel bad about Carver having to leave though. I mean, I never really gave him a chance, because I was still bitter when I started hibernating. But he seemed like a good person."

"He's one of my best friends," I admitted. Upon seeing his shocked expression, I explained, "You were gone for half a year, Jer. He was there for me. He cared for me. I could talk to him. Of course, our relationship was… complicated, what with him being in your body and all."

"I can imagine," he snorted, forking some more spaghetti into his mouth. He opened his mouth, as if to say something more, but Ian walked in, running a hand through his hair anxiously.

"Jared and I are going out to drop all these souls off at shipping centers and to get more cryotanks. All of ours are full," he said.

"Ian, I'd love to go, but…" I said, my voice trailing off as I looked sideways at Jeremy, "I don't want to leave Jeremy again. And he can't go, he's not ready yet."

"Sure, that's fine," Ian said, smiling reassuringly at me. "I'll take care of Carver. I know how much you care about him."

"Oh," I said, "one thing."

He looked at me expectantly. "Yes?"

"He doesn't want to be a Bear again."

"Don't worry, Elizabeth. I've got it all taken care of."

RRRRRR

Jeb let Jeremy and I skip our chores that day, so we retired to our room early. "You know," I said, my tone conversational, "this is the first time I've been in our cave since you were captured."

"Really?" he asked, sounding shocked. "Why?"

I shrugged, and then remember that he couldn't see me in the darkness. "I don't know. I guess I just didn't want to be in here without you."

And then I couldn't say anything more, because his lips were on mine, and he had me pinned up against the cave wall, one of his hands on either side of my head. Moaning, I wrapped my arms around his neck possessively, parting his lips with my tongue, feeling satisfied when I heard him groan into me, sliding a thigh between mine so that I was straddling it. I arched into him, and he pulled his lips from mine, kissing a blazing trail from my jaw to my collarbone.

He stumbled backward toward the mattress and fell roughly onto it, with me on top of him. His hands slipped beneath my shirt, my skin burning where his flesh met mine. One of his hands wandered up toward the snap of my bra and I froze. He pulled away from me, panting, "You're not ready yet, are you?"

Embarrassed, I buried my face in his chest, shaking my head. "I'm sorry," I mumbled into his shirt. I knew how much he wanted it, wanted me; his erection was pressing into my thigh.

"It's all right," he murmured. "I understand, and I'll wait for you. Forever, if I have to. I love you, Elizabeth."

"I love you, too, Jer," I whispered back, rolling off of him and snuggling into his side.

Feeling his arms wrap around me, I drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

Wanderer's POV

I couldn't seem to fall asleep that night, sick with worry for Ian, who was still out with Jared. I had been lying on my back on the mattress, staring at the ceiling of our cave for the past half hour. Deciding that a change of position would probably be for the best, I turned over onto my side, my back to the door.

Which was why I was surprised when I heard the door slide open.

I sat up straight in bed, snapping my head around to see who had opened the door. "Ian!" I cried happily, as he laid down on the mattress next to me.

"What are you still doing awake, Wanderer?" he murmured, kissing me on each of my cheeks.

"I couldn't sleep," I mumbled, feeling myself blush, and I was grateful for the darkness suddenly. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too," he murmured, pressing his lips to mine, finally. As if they had minds of their own, my small hands reached up to thread themselves in his dark hair, pulling his face closer to mine as he opened his mouth to me. I quickly followed suit, gently pulling myself onto his lap.

After a few more moments of blissful kissing, I pulled away, panting and breathless. "Did you do what Carver asked you to?" I asked softly. I knew there was no point in keeping my voice so ridiculously low; everyone else was asleep, and I was sure Jeremy was keeping Elizabeth more than occupied.

"Mmhmm," he replied, nodding his head. "Yes, I did. I hope he knows what he's doing."

"I'm still not quite sure I'd understand why he didn't tell Elizabeth," I mused aloud. "Doesn't she have a right to know, if he's her friend?"

"She'd stop him from doing it," Ian murmured back to me. "She wouldn't want him to put himself in danger, as she would see it."

"But it's virtually no danger at all," I pointed out.

"It is if he gets caught."

"But the chances of souls suspecting him of something are slim to none."

"I know that," he told me softly. "But Elizabeth won't be willing to see it that way. She'll only see that he's risking his life for her."

"Yes," I agreed quietly. "Yes, she will see it like that."

"Don't worry, Wanderer," he told me, kissing my mouth softly. "I know you don't like not telling the truth, but we'll explain it all to her when Carver comes back."


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I still own nothing

**A/N: I still own nothing. Please, please, please go check out the poll on my profile concerning this fic. It's imperative that I hear your opinion! If you've already voted, please leave a review telling me your answer and your reasoning behind it. Anyway, please read and review. Enjoy. **

Chapter 11

Wanderer's POV

Another three months passed before he returned.

The days passed with relative normality; we all did our chores and went about life as usual in the caves. Jeremy and Elizabeth were inseparable once again, something Ian and Kyle could never resist commenting about.

And life went on, as Lily said.

I could tell Elizabeth still missed Carver's presence greatly; she was seemingly continually lamenting his absence. This did not go unnoticed by the men in her life either.

"What's wrong, Elizabeth?" Jeremy asked worriedly one day at dinner, frowning at his partner in concern.

"Nothing," she muttered, staring determinedly into her food. She avoided eye contact with everyone surrounding her.

"No, no," Ian said, looking at his sister suspiciously, "Jer is onto something. You've seemed really down lately, Liz. What is it?"

She shook her head, letting her black hair come out from behind her ear and curtain her face. "Come on, Elizabeth," Kyle said, nudging his younger sister. "Tell us."

She shook her head again, and I murmured, "Maybe she doesn't feel like talking about it."

Elizabeth looked up at me gratefully, and I noticed her blue eyes were shining with… tears? No, they couldn't be; she almost never cried.

And yet, tears they were.

"It's okay, Elizabeth," Ian muttered softly, pressing a brotherly kiss to the top of his sister's head.

"No, I'll tell you," she muttered, looking up and wiping at her eyes furiously with the back of her hand. "I don't know why I'm being so stupid about it."

"You're not stupid," Jeremy muttered, but she flashed him a look that shut him up right away. "Anyway, go on."

"It's just that… I miss Carver," she said, and a single tear slid down her cheek. Kyle hugged her tightly then (it was nice to see Kyle exhibit some emotion on occasion) and she buried her face in his large chest, so she didn't get to see the expression on Jeremy's face.

But I did.

His expression was hard to describe. It looked as though he were torn between sympathy and pain. His mouth was a thin line and he screwed his eyes shut tightly, as if he was trying to block some sort of mental picture from entering his mind's eye. He looked like he didn't know whether he should comfort her or start crying himself.

After dinner, he and Elizabeth headed for their cave, and I was left to wonder what happened.

RRRRRRRRRRRR

Elizabeth's POV

"Are you okay, Jeremy?"

When we returned to our cave after dinner, I realized that Jeremy had been suspiciously quiet ever since I admitted I missed Carver. "Yeah, I'm fine," he muttered. "Why do you ask?"

"You've been unusually quiet," I told him. "And that's bullshit. Something's wrong, and you're going to have to tell me sooner or later. And if it's sooner, you'll endure less nagging. So what's it going to be?"

He sighed loudly, and I heard him sit down on the mattress. As I followed suit, he said, "You miss Carver a lot."

"Yeah, I do," I said slowly, not sure where exactly he was going with this. And then it hit me, and I could only wonder how I had been so slow as to not pick up on it before.

Jeremy was jealous.

"Oh, Jeremy," I chuckled softly, reaching up to cup his cheek with one hand. He leaned into that hand almost desperately, placing one of his on top of it. "There's no need to be jealous of Carver."

"I know that," he said, sounding irritated. At first I thought he was irritated with me, but as he continued, I realized he was frustrated with himself. "I know I shouldn't be, and I know that you love me. But I just think of when you were kissing him, and I know it was to wake me up, but I was as mad as hell. And when you talk about how much you miss him… it just gets to me."

"Jeremy," I murmured softly, stroking his cheek with my thumb. "You don't know what I was like while you were gone. I was an absolute mess. I cried all the time, and my brothers and Wanderer had to convince me to eat meals. I couldn't sleep. I wouldn't go near our cave for anything, because the whole place reminded me of you. When Carver first came… it was hard for me, to see your body, but see someone else looking back at me in it. But eventually, I got over it. He was nice, he was my friend. Without you, I lost my best friend and partner all in one go. He at least covered the friend part. And though he loved me, I'm pretty sure it was just the body. But he was my friend, and he was his own person, despite being in your body. And I miss him." I fixed him with an intense gaze as I added, "But missing him isn't nearly as bad as missing you. With him, I'm missing my friend. With you, I was missing the love of my life."

"Elizabeth," he breathed, his breath washing over my face and mingling with my own. "I love you more than anything else in this planet, in this universe. Without you, my life means nothing.

"I love you, too, Jeremy," I replied softly. "I love you so much."

With that, he pressed his lips to mine firmly, nearly bruising my lips with his intensity. I moaned in surprise and pleasure, wrapping my arms around his neck as tightly as I could, bringing his face down closer to mine. I thrust my tongue into his mouth quickly, and it was his turn to moan, the noise coming his throat shamefully loud. One of his hands rested on the small of my back, and the other wandered further downward. He ran that hand slowly down my thigh, making me shiver in delight. Without warning, he pulled away, saying, "Elizabeth, if we go much further, it's going to be nearly impossible for me to stop. And I don't want to force you into anything you don't want to do. So… I think it's best if we stop now and go to sleep."

"Jeremy," I said slowly, making up my mind as I spoke, "has it ever occurred to you that… maybe I want to do this?"

I heard him freeze in his movement and turn to gape at me, his green eyes shining brightly in the darkness. "Really?" he said.

"Yes," I said simply. "Jeremy, I'm ready. I'm in love with you, and you're the only man I'll ever love. I want to be with you, I want you inside of me."

"All right," he consented quietly, and one of his hands slid slowly under my shirt. My flesh burned wildly wherever his hands went, and one of them went for the snap of my bra. He looked at me, almost as if asking my permission.

"Jeremy," I muttered, "I love you."

And that was all the encouragement he needed. He undid the snap of my bra quickly and pulled my shirt over my head, my bra falling from its place onto my lap. He stared at me, his green eyes ravenous and loving. "Oh my God, Elizabeth," he said softly, reaching out to softly brush my bare skin. "You're so beautiful."

I smiled softly into the darkness, and he proceeded to attack my neck with his lips, nipping and sucking at my flesh as he went. I gasped loudly as his lips traveled down to my collarbone, to my chest, and to my torso. I threaded my fingers through his dark curls and pulled his face up so that it was level with mine. "Yes, Elizabeth?" he said with a crooked grin.

"My turn," I said gruffly, my voice almost a growl. I reached for the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head roughly. I paused, taking the time to admire his physique. Of course, I'd seen him shirtless before. How could you spend five straight years with one person and never see him shirtless? And he'd seen me in disgraceful states of undress. Of course, when we were focusing on surviving on a day-to-day basis, we didn't really care.

But it was different now, knowing what we were about to do.

It was different now, knowing that, soon, he'd be inside me, that we'd be together.

That we'd officially be partners.

I ran my hand lightly over his muscles, feeling them contract involuntarily beneath my touch. Kissing him again, I reached for his belt, unbuckling it and pulling it off clumsily before fumbling with the button of his jeans. When she finally got the button undone and unzipped his jeans, she yanked his jeans down to his ankles, and he broke away from the kiss.

His erection was painfully obvious given the lack of his pants, and, despite the darkness, I knew he was blushing. However, he bent his head downwards and lavished kisses all over my stomach again, as his large hands unbuttoned and unzipped my own jeans, pulling them down.

Within moments, both of us were completely naked, and he hovered over me. "I love you, Elizabeth," he muttered, leaning down to kiss my throat.

"I love you, too, Jeremy."

RRRRRRRR

"Holy shit! Busy night last night?"

I woke with a start at the sound of my brother's voice and instinctively grabbed at the blanket, pulling it up to my chin. "Kyle," I groaned loudly, "just piss off for a few minutes, will you?"

"So you can get dressed?" he quipped with a smirk. "Liz, it's really important."

"Well can you let me get dressed?" I sniped. "Unless you want me to walk through the halls butt naked?"

"Fine," he grunted, "but make it fast."

"Jeremy, get up," I said, nudging the man next to me softly.

"No," he murmured, curling around me even more tightly, and I felt his leg wrap around my waist. "I don't want to."

"But we have to," I told him gently, yet firmly. "Kyle said it's important."

"Oh, shit," Jeremy murmured, sounding pained. "Did he see us… erm, in our current state of undress?"

"Well, yeah," I replied, blushing as he released me and I began to get dressed. "But don't worry about Kyle."

"Won't he tell Ian?" he asked worriedly.

"It's fine, don't worry about my ridiculously protective brothers," I told him firmly. "If they say anything about it, I'll set them straight."

"All right," he groaned, sitting up in bed and yawning and stretching. The blanket fell off of him, and I had to turn around to keep myself calm, memories of the previous night flooding back to me.

But I couldn't keep the grin off of my face.

We found Kyle, Ian, Wanderer, Jared, and Mel in the kitchen, along with a boy who looked to be about our age that I had never met before. "Hey, guys," I said happily. "What's going on?"

"You're extremely happy," Ian said, and I could tell by the way he glared at Jeremy that Kyle had already told him what had happened.

"Ian," I said firmly, "Jeremy is my partner, okay? I'm a big girl, I make my own decisions. If I want to have sex with him, I can and I will."

Just then, I noticed that the boy I had never met had a pained look on his face, and he was watching me with forlorn eyes. Why should he care? I'd never met him before, my life didn't relate to his. Then I noticed that his eyes were reflective.

Still, why should he care?

Unless…

"Carver?" I said softly, my blue eyes growing wide as I stared incredulously at the boy.

He was tall, with bright, shaggy blonde hair and gorgeous hazel eyes. He was looking at me so adoringly, that I knew what his answer would be before he opened his mouth. "Yes," he nodded. "It's me."

"It is him, we've already checked," Jared said quickly. "He knew your middle name, so I figured that it had to be him."

"Carver! I've missed you," I said happily, stepping forward and hugging him. His arms wrapped around me cautiously, and I could tell he didn't want to upset Jeremy. When I pulled away, I asked, "Carver, how the hell did you get here?"

"Well, you see," he said, grinning down at me, "that's all Ian's fault."


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: I still own nothing

**A/N: I still own nothing. Anyway, I'm close to making a decision in regards to the poll. Advice in reviews would be nice and greatly appreciated! Hint, hint. Anyway, enjoy and please review! **

Chapter 12

Elizabeth's POV

Carver took me back to the game room, which was currently empty, and I was reminded of the night I kissed him there. Strangely, the memory made me shiver, and it was _definitely_ not out of fear or disgust…

"Do you want me to tell you what happened or what?"

Carver's voice interrupted my reverie, and I nodded my head vigorously. "Of course, of course! Tell me, tell me!"

"All right, as long as you stop repeating everything you say," he chucked, seeming amused by my childish enthusiasm. "So the night that Doc removed me from Jeremy's body, do you remember that we stopped by Ian and Wanda's cave on the way to the hospital wing?"

Thinking back to that night, I nodded my head. "Yeah, I remember," I said slowly, "then Ian tagged along. I remember."

He nodded his head, continuing, "Ian and I had discussion before we left." I nodded, urging him on silently. Sighing, he a ran a hand anxiously through his blonde hair, before saying, "I told him that after I was removed, I didn't want to be shipped off to some other planet. I wanted to stay here."

I gaped at him and said, "But… you don't want to be a parasite anymore."

"I'm not," he said slowly. "Originally, I was just going to bring my host body back here quietly with supplies and such, and then let Doc take me out and then ship me off to another planet. I wasn't going to let you know I was here, because I knew you'd be upset if I left a second time."

"Got that right," I muttered, doing my best to glare at him and failing quite miserably. "So why are you here? Why have you let me see you? Are you leaving?"

"Whoa, slow down," he said, holding both hands up. "One question at a time. By some unimaginable stroke of luck, I got a host that's been inhabited by a soul for most of it's life, since he was about five, in fact. He's sixteen now, and the soul who was in him before went to the Fire planet, to follow her partner, whose host was too old to be considered usable anymore."

"So…" I said slowly, absorbing and comprehending what he was saying slowly, "you're not a parasite."

"I'm not a parasite," he repeated with a grin, his eyes shining.

"So… you're here to stay," I said, feeling a smile stretch across my lips.

"I'm here to stay," he confirmed, and I launched myself at him, throwing my arms around him in a tight hug. His arms were around me in an instant, tight, but not to the point of pain.

I pulled away from him, smiling and saying, "I missed you, Carver."

"I missed you, too, Elizabeth," he said, his eyes shining down at me. There was no mistaking the adoration and love in them.

And that was when I realized I had another problem besides Jeremy being jealous of Carver.

Carver was still in love with me.

RRRRRRRR

Wanderer's POV

"I don't really see what the problem is, Elizabeth."

For some unknown reason, Elizabeth had decided to pull Mel and me into the washroom on our way back from dinner. She wore the same distracted expression she had worn all day, ever since she talked to Carver. Once she had assured herself we were the only three in the room, she confessed that she realized Carver was still in love with her. "I agree with Wanda," Mel said, looking at Elizabeth worriedly. Her worry wasn't very far-fetched, seeing as she had been chewing on the same lock of her hair for the past ten minutes. What with people in the cave getting pretty grimy and all, that could not taste good. "So what if Carver loves you? I don't mean to sound harsh, but it's not as if he's really going to pressure you or anything. And he knows you love Jeremy."

"Well…" she said, sounding uncertain, her blue eyes darting around the room.

"Oh my God," Mel gaped at her. "You _don't_ love Jeremy? But I heard Kyle telling Ian that the two of you slept together last night?"

"We did, and I do," she said quickly. "I do love Jeremy."

"But…" I supplied for her, sensing that there was something else she needed to say.

"I love Jeremy," she said. "I really do. But…"

"Let me guess," Mel said knowingly, looking smug, "your feelings toward Carver aren't exactly platonic anymore."

Elizabeth frowned, and I knew it was true. "Elizabeth…" I said slowly, "when Carver was in Jeremy's body, your feelings toward him were completely platonic, am I right?"

She nodded her head vigorously. "They were. I knew he loved me, but I just considered him my best friend," she sighed. "I mean, when Carver was in Jeremy's body, it was so easy to convince myself that he only loved me because of his body. Because Jeremy's memories put me in that light, because Jeremy's body loved me."

"Now…" I said slowly, realizing what she was trying to say. Obviously, things had changed now.

"But now he's in someone else's body," she whispered, her blue eyes wide in the darkness. "And he still loves me. He really, truly loves me. And I can no longer convince myself that it's just because his body loves me, because I didn't even know his host. And, I mean, well… how can you _not_ love Carver?"

Mel and I exchanged glances. "Elizabeth…" Mel said gently, "I know I'm not close with either of your brothers, but I still think of you like a younger sister."

"Thanks," she grinned back at Mel. "And I think of you as my older one, what with how much you helped me when Jeremy was gone."

"Right," she said. "So I'm going to ask you a kind of personal question that I know will be difficult for you to answer."

"Okay, shoot," Elizabeth said, and I watched interestedly, wondering what Mel was going to say. I wished I could help Elizabeth more, but I didn't understand human emotions as much as Melanie did.

"Do you love Carver?" Mel asked her.

"Yes, I do," she whispered back solemnly, and I felt like we were three sisters for a moment, having a private discussion and sharing our deepest secrets with each other.

I loved that feeling. It made me feel… human.

"Do you love Jeremy?" Melanie asked next.

"Yes, I do," she replied, and I noticed her bottom lip quiver.

"Who do you love more: Carver or Jeremy?"

"I don't know," she responded, looking pained as she answered.

"Well," Mel said slowly. "You're stuck then, aren't you?"

"Wanderer," Elizabeth said, turning to me, her blue eyes pleading. "You're thousands of years old and incredibly wise. What's your advice?"

"M-my advice?" I stammered, and I could feel myself turning bright red. "Liz, I may be thousands of years old, but I've only been human for about two years. In short, I have the emotional capability of a toddler."

"No, you don't," she insisted. "I've seen you with my brother; you are way more emotionally mature than you give yourself credit for."

"All right," I relented, "even if that's true, it doesn't mean that I _understand_ these emotions, much am able to give advice concerning them."

"Please, Wanda," she begged, "just give it a shot. Your advice has got to be better than my own."

"What's your advice to yourself?" Mel asked curiously.

She grimaced. "Clone myself and give one to each." When Mel gaped at her incredulously, she shrugged and said, "I have an overactive imagination when I panic and worry."

"I think…" I said slowly, and I saw both of them turn their eyes on me. "I think that you should just wait. See how everything plays how. If you're meant to be with Carver, it'll work out that way. If you're meant to be with Jeremy, it'll work out that way."

She seemed to be cheered by my advice and said, "Thanks, Wanda. You're the best."

She leaned over to hug me, as Mel said, "That's actually really good advice, Wanda. See? You're not _that_ bad with human emotions."

I had never felt more human around two people who weren't Ian.

RRRRRR

Elizabeth's POV

I couldn't fall asleep that night, still plagued by worries. How could I possibly choose between the two of them?

It was like asking me if I liked Skittles better than Nerds, or vice versa.

I was torn equally between my two options.

Jeremy seemed eager to have a repeat of last night's events, but I lied, telling him that I was incredibly sleepy.

Thankfully, he believed my fib and merely wrapped himself around me protectively and fell asleep within moments. I knew he was asleep because he started snoring.

And trust me.

You can_not_ fake snoring that terrible.

But why had I lied to him? If I loved him, shouldn't I _want_ to have sex with him?

I figured it was because I finally admitted to myself that I loved Carver as well, and if I slept with Jeremy, I would feel like I was betraying Carver. Of course, the same would apply vice versa. But, knowing how I felt about Jeremy, Carver would never let me sleep with him.

He's just that good of a person.

The truth was, at this point, I no longer thought of Carver or Wanda or Sunny as souls. They were just people I cared about. Wanderer was like an older sister to me, and she was Ian's partner. She made him happy, which made her family. Sunny, though I wasn't as close to her as I was to Wanda and I wasn't as close to Kyle as I was to Ian, was Kyle's partner, and she made him happy, which made her family as well. And Carver…

He was one of my closest and best friends.

And I loved him.

The fact that these three people were souls were just small details. Now they were just people I cared about.

I finally fell asleep that night, and I dreamt fretfully.

Of both Jeremy and Carver.

RRRRRRRRR

I wasn't exactly a happy camper the next morning at breakfast, having gotten only a couple hours of sleep all together.

"I take it you didn't sleep well?" Jeremy asked knowingly, handing me a bowl of oatmeal.

"You're right," I grumbled, and he smiled to himself, seeming pleased that he had me pegged. "Don't look so smug. Stupid morning person."

"What's wrong?" Carver asked me, approaching me for the first time that day. I looked at them, both of them, standing there next to each other, and it was almost impossible for me to choose which one to look at.

"She didn't sleep well," Jeremy answered for me. "And she's not much of a morning person to begin with."

"Oh, I know she's not a morning person," Carver informed him, smiling. "I've had bad experiences trying to wake her up in the mornings."

"Hey," I said defensively, fighting against the urge to grin. "I've told you before, I'm not responsibly for the things I do or say when I'm not fully awake."

I could feel myself waking up more and more by the moment, so I didn't miss the jealous glare Jeremy was sending Carver's way.

I frowned.

Why was he still jealous?

The other night, I had assured him that he had no reason to be.

Of course, I _was_ in love with Carver. But Jeremy didn't know that.

As far as Jeremy knew, Carver and I were just friends. So why should he feel the need to be jealous?

"Carver," Ian said, approaching him, "Kyle's not feeling well. He said he hopes you find someone else to work the fields with you. I'd do it, but I promised Wanda I'd help her wash dishes today."

"I'll do it!" I volunteered eagerly, beaming at Carver, who smiled right back.

Jeremy scowled. "Lizzy, you don't have to, I'll do it with him. You don't need to overexert yourself."

I fixed him with a piercing glare and said, "Jeremy Richards, if you think you need to tell me not to overexert myself, you are poorly mistaken."

I stalked out of the kitchen, heading for the fields as quickly as possible. Carver followed me out quickly, asking softly, "I'm sorry, Elizabeth."

"For what?" I asked, glancing sideways at him and offering him a small smile. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"I don't want to upset Jeremy," he said, sounding worried.

"Don't worry about him," I told him firmly. "He's just being a jerkwad right now, okay? Ignore him."

"All right," he agreed slowly, still sounding reluctant.

We both grabbed shovels and start pounding into the dirt, the mindless rhythm allowing my mind to wander to different trains of thought… like why Jeremy was being such an asshole.

RRRRRRR

"Elizabeth, you need to stop working."

For the first time ever, Carver gave me an order, and I could tell that he meant it by the tone of his voice. "No, I don't," I protested, continuing to pound into the dirt with my shovel. He grabbed the shovel and gently but firmly wrenched it from my hands.

"You've been working for three hours straight. If you keep this up, you'll hurt yourself," he told me. I opened my mouth to protest, but he cut me off, saying, "You know it's the truth. Let's go get lunch, you can keep on working after we eat."

"I don't want to go get lunch," I mumbled. "You go on without me. I swear, I won't work while you're gone."

He gaped at me. "Elizabeth, you have to eat," he said. "I can't let you skip a meal."

"No, it's not that I don't want to eat," I said, playing with my hair in frustration. "It's just that… I don't want to see Jeremy."

He seemed even more confused by this, and he said, "But you love him. Why don't you want to see him?"

I sighed, wondering how to explain this to him. "I do love him, Carver. But right now, I'm really angry at him, and when I'm this angry, I have the unfortunate tendency to say things I don't mean to people I really care about. So I need to stay away from him until I'm calmer. Does that make any sense?"

"I think so," he replied, nodding his head slowly. "How about… I go get us both lunch and we eat out here while everyone else is in the kitchen?"

"Sure," I agreed brightly. "You're the best, Carver."

He flashed me a grin, but I could see the doubt in his eyes. I could practically hear him think, _Yeah, but I'm second best to Jeremy_.

Once he was gone, I sighed out loud.

Before, when I had thought that I could never love Carver back because I was already in love with Jeremy, I had been wrong.

I loved them both.

And I had no idea how to choose between the two of them.

What was I going to do?


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Okay, I've made up my mind

**A/N: Okay, I've made up my mind. And you'll see how in this chapter. A bunch of people gave me their opinions, but I finally formed my own. And though a lot of people are probably going to hate me for this chapter, just remember- it's my house! I mean, my story. Anyway, I still own nothing and reviews are always appreciated. **

Chapter 13

Wanderer's POV

"Wanda, I can't find Elizabeth anywhere."

Ian looked worried as he spoke to me over dinner, wringing his hands together as he cast his blue eyes about the kitchen, obviously looking for his sister. "I don't think she had the best of days," I told him carefully, trying not to give away too much. I didn't like lying to Ian, but this wasn't my secret to tell.

"I know," he muttered, staring into his spaghetti absently. "But when I asked her what was wrong, she just told me she had girl problems. But I could tell she wasn't telling me the whole story, and Elizabeth's always told me everything. I don't get it, Wanda."

"She's older now, remember that, Ian," I told him gently, reaching toward him and placing a hand on top of his. He turned his hand over under mine, so that our palms were touching. "It's a girl thing, and I think talking to her about it would make it awkward for you."

He sighed and nodded, running a hand anxiously through his dark hair. "All right," he muttered.

"Do you want me to go look for her?" I sighed.

He brightened at my offer, and said, "Sure! If you don't mind too much, that is."

Flashing him and grin and hopping off of the counter, I chirped, "I don't mind at all, Ian. I'll meet you back at our cave, okay?"

He nodded, and I pecked him quickly on the lips before exiting the kitchen.

Where could Elizabeth be?

Twenty minutes later, I had searched all the caves, the fields, the washroom, and pretty much every conceivable place within our network of caves. "Where is that girl?" I murmured under my breath. When I passed the rec room, I heard the familiar sound of tennis shoes slapping against the floor of the cave.

I peered into the rec room curiously, and I was pleased to see that I had finally located the youngest O'Shea. She was wearing mesh gym shorts and tennis shoes, with only a sports bra on to cover her upper body. She was standing on one side of the rec room, across from the pull-up bar Kyle had installed a few months prior. Letting out a groan of frustrated, she sprinted across the room and jumped up to the bar, grasping it tightly in both of her hands.

She did several pull-ups before pulling herself up and hooking her legs around the bar, the bar resting just behind the back of her knee, and hanging upside down. Her face turned red as the blood rushed to her head, and she spotted me. "Hi, Wanda," she said, her face devoid of any emotion.

I made my way over to her, a concerned expression on my face. "Elizabeth? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied, trying for nonchalant but only achieving uncertain. "Why are you here?" I opened my mouth to reply, but she cut me off, saying, "Let me guess. Ian got worried and sent you to look for me because I told him I was having girl problems."

I grinned broadly at her. "You know him too well."

"Too true," she agreed, her blue eyes sliding shut almost lazily.

"Um…" I said, "why are you hanging upside down like that?"

"It makes all the blood rush to my head," she explained. "It helps me to think better."

"What are you doing here anyway?" I continued. "You missed dinner."

"What is this, the third degree?" she joked, flashing me a broad grin to assure me that she was just kidding around. "I needed some time to myself, to think. To sort myself out.

"Oh," I said simply, still confused. "So you came… to the rec room?"

"Exercise clears my head," she replied, grunting as she used all her upper body strength to haul herself up to grab the bar. She dangled from it for a few moments before dropping safely to the ground, landing silently on her feet like a cat. "I'm so used to all my exercises that my muscles just kind of do it automatically, and I can focus my mind on other things. Plus… it's my form of anger management." She managed a wry smile at that.

"Still torn between Carver and Jeremy?" I asked her softly, glancing behind me to make sure we were alone.

We were.

"Just as much as ever," she replied, picking up a water bottle from the ground next to her and unscrewing the cap and chugging half the bottle down in own go. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she said, "I just don't see how I'm supposed to choose. I love them both equally."

An idea struck me, but I was unsure of its quality. "I have an idea, Elizabeth," I said slowly. "But I'm not so sure if it's a good one or not, so just hear me out."

She placed her hands on her hips, and said, "Shoot, Wanderer."

"If you love them both equally, then why don't you decide based on which one loves you more?" I suggested, and it sounded stupid to my own ears. "Never mind, it's a stupid idea-"

"No," she interrupted, looking at me in an awed manner. "No, that's absolutely _brilliant_, Wanderer. Why didn't _I_ think of that?"

She threw her sweaty arms around me, and I instantly hugged her back, this member of the family I had never had.

"Thanks," she muttered, pulling away from me and still grinning widely.

"No problem, Elizabeth," I told her, feeling a smile stretch across my lips. "Anything for you."

RRRRRR

Elizabeth's POV

"Hello, Eliza."

I was distracted the next morning during breakfast, sitting in between Carver and Jeremy (both literally and figuratively), and Zack's unwelcome voice snapped me out of my reverie. "Piss off, Zack," I muttered, spooning some oatmeal into my mouth.

Both Jeremy and Carver looked up to glare at him, though Carver did so with less hate than Jeremy. "Aw, come now, Eliza," he said, still failing to call me by the correct name. "That hurts."

"First of all," I told him, "it's Elizabeth or Lizzy, never Eliza. It makes me think too much of the Wild Thornberries."

Carver flashed me a curious look, and Jeremy snorted into his bowl of oatmeal. "Second of all, I can't stand the sight of your butt-ugly face, Zack. So piss off."

He draped an arm over my shoulders, saying, "You know you secretly love me, Liz. The farce you put up with this shithead Jeremy here is just an act to hide your true feelings. Come on now, give me a kiss."

I heard the satisfying sound of the palm of my hand striking his cheek, and he hastily pulled his arm away from me. "Touch me again and it'll be a fist that hits you," I growled, dumping the remainder of my oatmeal on his head. "I'd rather die than kiss you, dickhead."

He glared at me hatefully, and there was an almost psychotic air about him. "So be it," he snarled, stalking off, dripping oatmeal.

"That," Jeremy said as soon as he was gone, snorting with laughter, "was classic."

"Normally, I would say that is was rather mean," Carver said slowly, "but under the circumstances, I'd say it was called for."

Jeremy frowned at him. "Aren't you supposed to have something against violence and anger or something?"

"We do," Carver told him, "but he _touched_ her, Jeremy. You can't be happy about that either."

"No, I'm not," Jeremy said, glaring at Carver now.

I didn't like the tension I sensed in the air.

It was Jeremy's turn to work the fields with me today, and when we arrived there, we picked up our shovels and began working.

After a few moments of silent labor, he finally grunted bitterly, "So. I see you've finally decided to spend time with me and not with Carver."

"Excuse me?" I demanded, feeling anger boil in my stomach. I stood up, stopping in the middle of my work so that I could face him and glare balefully at him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I just mean that you spent all yesterday with Carver," he spat back at me. "And you disappeared for dinner last night. I was asleep by the time you finally returned to our cave!"

"So what if I want to spend some time with Carver?" I snapped. "He's been gone for a long time, if you haven't noticed, and I missed him terribly. And last night, I wasn't even with Carver. I just needed some alone time. Is that too much to ask for?"

"The alone time isn't," he told me, his green eyes smoldering, "but I don't like all the time you've been spending with Carver."

"What?" I demanded.

"I don't like it," he spat. "It's either him or me. You and him can still be friends, but I won't have you spending all that time with him."

"Why are you so goddamn possessive all of a sudden, Jeremy?" I demanded. "Hmmm? What the hell is wrong with you? Why the _hell_ should I have to choose between the two of you, hmmm? Why are you making me choose? Carver isn't making me choose, and you know he's in love with me!"

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized what I had to do. Without another word, I turned on my heel and fled from the fields, ignoring Jeremy calling my name. When I finally reached Ian and Wanda's empty cave, I sunk to the floor, letting the realization sink in.

Carver loved me more.

Well, not more per se, but better. Carver loved me better.

Both Jeremy and Carver knew that I could never be happy if I had to choose between the two of them. I never said it explicitly, but it was quite obvious, and I could see it in Jeremy's eyes when he told me I had to choose between them. He knew doing so would make me unhappy, though it would please him.

Carver, on the other hand, though I knew he would be happy if I chose him, wanted _me _to be happy more than anything else. He wanted me to be happy so much that he wouldn't declare his love for me anymore, because he knew it pained me to not be able to love him back.

But I did.

I did love him.

I loved Jeremy, too, but… he had changed ever since he was Carver's host. He was more… possessive, more aggressive when it came to his territory. And I didn't like that in him.

And Carver was…

Carver was amazing. Perfect. He loved me, and he wanted nothing more than for me to be happy. Carver's love was unconditional and incorruptible. I knew for certain that he would never become possessive or aggressive, like Jeremy had become. And he would never do anything that he didn't think was for my good.

Jeremy… I still loved him. But he didn't know how to love me.

I thought of having to face Jeremy, and how he would probably want to make up and have sex again. And the thought scared me.

And that was when I knew what I had to do.

I had to break things off with Jeremy.

RRRRRR

"Why are we here again, Elizabeth?"

Jeremy's voice sounded annoyed and irritated, and I could tell he was still pissed off with me from our earlier confrontation.

"I need to talk to you," I said softly.

"All right, what about?" he pressed on.

"I-" I said, but I stopped suddenly when I heard footsteps at the entrance to the washroom. "Who's there?"

Zack's face appeared in the doorway, his face a mask of cold indifference.

"Piss off, Williams," Jeremy advised him harshly. "Can't you tell that we're trying to have a private conversation here?"

"Not for much longer," Zack smirked, pulling Jeb's rifle out from behind him. I barely had time to wonder vaguely how he had gotten a hold of it before I registered that it was aimed at me.

"Zack," I said, flashing Jeremy a warning glance, "what are you doing?"

"You said you'd rather die than kiss me," he snarled. "Let's make that come true, eh?"

"You don't want to do this, Zack," I told him softly, holding both hands up.

His mask faltered and he lowered the rifle, like he was giving in. With a cold laugh, he raised it again and fired.

I awaited the sharp, white hot pain I was sure would follow.

But it never came.

It felt like ages after he fired the shot, but in reality, it had only been about two seconds. Jeremy was lying on the ground, bleeding profusely, clutching at a bullet wound in his stomach. Kyle flew out of seemingly nowhere in the hallway and tackled Zack to the ground, successfully knocking the rifle out of his grasp. I fell to the ground on my knees next to Jeremy, feeling tears leaking from my eyes.

I grasped his hand, saying, "Come on, Jer, Hang on there. You'll pull through."

"Elizabeth," he croaked, his eyes growing wide as he bled even more. It was then that I knew there was no hope. He was going to die. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Jer," I choked out between my sobs. I buried my head in his chest, until its steady rise and fall stopped.

And he was gone.

RRRRRR

Carver found me in Ian and Wanderer's cave not long after I fled the washroom. He sat down silently on the mattress next to me, and I thought I could hear the sounds of his own crying. Wordlessly, I crawled over to him and sat myself on his lap, burying my face in the crook of his neck and wrapping my arms around his neck.

He stiffened beneath me at first, but then he relaxed and began to rub my back soothingly, trying to calm me down.

This didn't change my decision.

I still chose Carver.

But I needed time to get over losing Jeremy. Of course, after I broke things off with him, I expected to lose him to a certain degree, and I would probably lose his friendship. I knew that. But I didn't expect to see him die right before my eyes, so suddenly, so cruelly.

My entire world had been altered once again.

But Carver was there. And he was my rock, my anchor.

He kept me steady when I was weak.

And for the moment, that was all I needed.

RRRRRRR

Wanderer's POV

Jeremy's death was hard on everyone, but especially on Elizabeth. Though she admitted that before his death, she had decided to choose Carver, she also admitted that she still loved Jeremy, even she had been planning to break things off with him. And I knew it had to hurt her terribly to lose him like that.

But we all rallied around her.

Kyle, Ian, Mel, Carver, and me. Even Sunny came out of her shell enough to exchange some soothing words with Elizabeth.

Though no one had expected her to come, Elizabeth showed up at the tribunal. The majority of people in our community had voted to exile Zack from the caves, but she proposed that we send him to live with the other community, that he should get away from bad influences. Upon Elizabeth's insistence, we settled on that, and he was shipped off to Nate's and Burn's community within a week. The rest of his family chose to remain with us.

After six month of relative normalcy in the caves, she finally seemed to be accepting Jeremy's death. She told me that she highly doubted that she'd ever fully get over it, but she was beginning to be okay with it.

I vaguely wondered when she was going to tell Carver what had conspired just before Jeremy's death.

As it would turn out, she wouldn't gather up the courage to do so until _seven_ months after Jeremy's death.

These humans are so stubborn.

But I love them.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Don't own, don't sue

**A/N: Don't own, don't sue. Thanks for not hating me, haha. :D I didn't really want to kill off Jeremy, and I thought it was harsh, but I definitely wanted Elizabeth to choose Carver, and I couldn't see any way for her to do so if Jeremy was still alive. I mean, she could, but what would I do with Jeremy's character? As for why Zack did something so extreme, that'll be explained in this chapter. Please review! **

Chapter 14

Wanderer's POV

One day about seven months after Jeremy's death, I found Laura washing dishes by the stream after dinner, and I thought I heard her crying.

I paused in my tracks, wondering if I had heard correctly or if I was now beginning to imagine things.

I had heard correctly. She sniffled, and I heard her choke back a sob.

Hesitantly, I made my way over to her, squatting next to her on the ground, saying, "Laura, what's wrong?"

"Oh, it's you, Wanda," she said, flashing me a small, watery smile. "It's nothing, I just… I miss my son."

Oh. So she missed Zack. "Laura, I don't really know how to say this," I started, unsure of how to explain to her that her beloved son was a murderer.

"I know he's a murderer," she told me solemnly, "and I even voted for him to be exiled to the other community."

"Oh," I said simply, wondering what I should say next.

"I don't want you to think _too_ badly of him, Wanda," she told me. "I know he killed someone… damn, there's not really an excuse for that, is there?"

"No, I suppose not," I replied grimly.

"But there is a reason," she promised me. "Zack… he suffered from a mental condition. He has always been bipolar, since he was old enough for it to truly show. Before the invasion… he was on medications that kept it under control. But afterwards… he had to learn to keep it under control on his own. And he was doing such a good job, Wanderer. He really was, and he hadn't had an episode for a few years. And it's not Elizabeth's fault, but when she told him she'd rather die that kiss him… he just snapped. I'm surprised he didn't try to strangle her right there and then. After he shot Jeremy, he came to me begging for forgiveness, he said he wanted a second chance. At first, I couldn't bring myself to speak to him without crying. But after the tribunal, I told him that I did forgive him, and that this exile was his second chance."

I was speechless when she finished her story, and I had no idea what to say to her. "Laura…" I started softly, "I'm so sorry."

"Me too, Wanderer," she chuckled, "me too."

RRRRR

Elizabeth's POV

I was bent over my oatmeal one morning about seventh months after Jeremy's death, when I felt a hand squeeze my shoulder.

Carver.

My skin didn't tingle when anyone but him touched me, so therefore, it had to be him.

"Good morning, Elizabeth," he said cheerfully, though he looked at me worriedly with his hazel eyes.

"Good morning, Carver," I replied, grabbing the extra bowl of oatmeal I had acquired for him and sliding it over to him.

"Thanks," he said brightly, and began spooning the food into his mouth. After a few moments of eating in silence, he asked me, "How are you?"

"I'm good," I said, shrugging. "Not great, but good."

"That's… good," he said finally.

I chuckled. "We need a new word, Carve."

I noticed how his face lit up when I shortened his named from 'Carver' to 'Carve,' and I assumed that he took it to be some human sign of affection. Well, it was, and I loved him, and I knew he loved me. But I needed time to get over Jeremy's death…

_You've had seven damns months to get over Jeremy's death_, said the voice of reason in my head.

_Yes, but I loved him, too. I don't want to… disrespect him, especially since he died for me_, I argued back.

_Do you really think Jeremy would want you to be this miserable?_ The voice countered. _And don't you think Carver could help you so much more if you told him how you really feel about him? He still thinks he'll always be second best to Jeremy, which isn't true. It isn't fair to either of you to continue hurting the both of you by remaining silent. _

_To hell with it, _I thought. _I hate it when you're right_.

RRRRRRR

"Come in!"

Carver slid open the door to the cave I was now sharing with Julia and Anna, both of whom were at the soccer game currently taking place in the rec room. I had opted out of it, and Carver had as well, saying that he needed to go take a bath.

Which was where I was guessing he had just come from, judging by the wet state of his hair. "I just came to say good night," he said, looking at me intently with his hazel eyes. "And to check on you. Are you okay?"

"Yes," I replied, my tone carefully calculated.

"Then why did you pass up the chance to play soccer?" he asked. "You love soccer. Is it because… of Jeremy?"

"What?" I asked, shocked that he had figured it out. "I mean, a bit, Carve, but I'm just really tired, too."

"Oh," he said slowly. "Okay." He sighed, glancing behind him into the hallway. "Good night then, Elizabeth."

I stepped forward, wrapping my arms around in him in a hug. "Good night, Carver," I said, burying my face in his chest. His arms wrapped around me tightly, squeezing me as if he'd never let go. I pulled away slightly, looking up into his hazel eyes. He stared right back at me, such love and adoration in his eyes. Without thinking much, I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his.

He responded by moving his lips against mine for a few moments, before pulling away abruptly, eyes wide.

"Elizabeth, I- I," he stammered, looking shocked, "I can't let you do this."

"Why?" I mumbled, feeling myself blush a deep red color. "I thought you loved me."

"I do love you, Elizabeth," he said earnestly, looking alarmed. "I'll never love anyone like I love you, I'm sure of that now." He sucked in a deep breath, and said, "I can't let you do this, because you love Jeremy, even if he's dead."

"I do love him," I murmured softly. "But that's in the past, Carver. I love _you_ now."

He gaped at me, looking shocked and disbelieving. "Elizabeth, you just feel like that because Jeremy died. I won't let you act on your superficial feelings for me, because I know once you realize what you've done, you'll just be angry with yourself for hurting me. So I can't let you do that."

"No, Carver, you don't understand," I told him in frustration. "I really, really love you. I knew I loved you before Jeremy died."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, looking confused.

"Because I loved both of you," I explained. "And I couldn't make a decision. But then I realized that you loved me better. Not necessarily more than Jeremy did, but you knew how to love me better than he did, better than he probably ever could. And I decided that I'd be happier with you in the long run. I was going to tell him, to break things off with him, when Zack killed him. It was sudden, and I miss him terribly, but I'm glad that he died happy, thinking that I loved him and only him. It would've killed him if he knew that I loved you."

Carver remained silent for a few moments. Finally, he said, "Are you sure, Elizabeth? I don't think I could handle it if you gave me everything I hoped for and then took it away, and I know it wouldn't be better for you in the long run either. And… won't this be disrespecting Jeremy?"

"He wouldn't want me to be miserable," I mumbled in response. "And I'm miserable now, knowing that you love me and I love you and not being with you." Looking up at him, I added, "And, Carver, I'm sure. You're the only thing that's kept me from going insane these past few months. You're my rock."

I could see his hazel eyes shining with emotion in the darkness, and I knew that most human males would allow themselves to be so visibly overwhelmed with emotion. He reached out to brush a lock of my black hair away from my face, his fingers brushing my skin as he did so. My skin tingled where he touched it, and I felt my breath hitch in my throat. "Elizabeth," he breathed, his breath washing over my face as his face drew closer to mine. "I love you more than anything. And I know it's very selfish of me, but I'd give everyone else up if I could only have you."

"I wouldn't say that's selfish," I murmured, looking up at him happily. "Just very human."

He grinned happily, as I leaned in to press my lips to his again. He responded immediately, his arms looping around my waist. I opened my mouth to him, parting his lips with my tongue. A surprised moan sounded in the back of his throat as I gently stroked his tongue with mine, as he slowly seemed to grasp the concept. My arms wrapped around his neck of my own volition.

When Jeremy touched me, my skin used to burn.

Now, when Carver touched me, my skin tingled like crazy, like it had never been more alive.

Personally, I preferred being alive to burning.

After several long minutes of blissful kissing, I pulled away, needing air. I buried my face in his shirt, breathing in his scent, one that I could only describe as 'Carver.'

Suddenly, he pulled away from me slightly, looking worried. "It isn't just this body is it?" he asked.

I sighed, and said, "Let's sit down on the mattress, Carver."

I did so, and he followed suit. "It _is _the body, isn't it?" he said, sounding panicked now.

"Carver," I said firmly. "Stop freaking out."

"It's just, when I was in Jeremy's body, you didn't love, but when I came back in this body, you did," he babbled nervously.

"Stop," I told him, chuckling. "It's not the body, Carver."

"Okay," he said slowly.

"Let me try to explain this," I said slowly. "When you were in Jeremy's body, it was easy for me to convince myself that you only loved me because of Jeremy's body. So I convinced myself that I had no reason to love you back. But when you came back in another body, and you still loved me, well… I couldn't help but fall in love with you."

He looked relieved, and I leaned forward, resting my head on his broad shoulder. "I'm glad to hear it," he murmured.

"Of course, this body _is _very handsome," I said, lifting my head and smirking at him. "Personally, I love the blonde hair."

He smiled at me, easily sensing that I was joking. Pressing a kiss to my hair, he made as if to stand up, but I pulled him back onto the mattress. "I should go," he said reluctantly. "Julia and Anna will be back soon, and I wouldn't want them to walk in on… us." He blushed. "I should go back to my cave."

"But, Carver," I said, smiling at him playfully. "This _is _your cave."

"What are you talking about?" he asked me sharply. "All four of us can't sleep in here, it'll be far too crowded."  
"All four of us _aren't_ sleeping in here," I replied. "I came clean with Julia and Anna about my love for you last week. Anna admitted that she'd rather sleep in her parents' cave, and Julia offered to move in with Lily and Candy." Sighing, I added, "I didn't want to ask them to move out, but both of them offered. They're both good kids."

"They are," he murmured, a small smile spreading across his face. "So… we're living together now."

"We're living together now," I confirmed, smiling broadly back at him.

"And… are we partners?" he asked.

"If you want to be," I replied.

"Elizabeth," he breathed, "you of all people should know I want you to be my partner more than anything else in the world."

"Great," I grinned. "Don't worry about my brothers; I told them that I loved you _ages_ ago, and I explained it all to them. They've been expecting this for weeks."

"Good," he replied, sounding relieved. "I was worried about what they would say."

"Well, you don't have to," I told him happily. "They both approved of you."

Sighing happily, I laid down onto the mattress, staring up at the ceiling of our cave. He followed suit, and I snuggled up to him, pillowing my head on his firm chest. After a few moments, he muttered, "Lizzy? Did you really sleep with Jeremy?"

I rolled away from him slightly, rolling onto my stomach and propping myself up on my elbows so that I could get a good look at him. "Yes, Carver, I did," I said slowly and softly, "I'm so sorry."

"No, it's okay," he murmured, looking everywhere but at me. "It's all right."

"No, it's not okay," I told him firmly, my heart aching as I realized how badly I had hurt him. "I'm sorry, Carver. If I had known that was you that day in the kitchen, I never would've let you know."

"D-did it mean anything?" he stammered, then he blushed. "Never mind, I'm sorry, you don't have to answer that. That's the past."

"You're right, it is the past," I replied. "But you have a right to ask, don't worry, Carver. And honestly? It did to him. But I was just doing it to make him happy. Not that I thought I would lose him if I didn't, but I felt like… I don't know, like it was something I owed him after all that lost time. But… it didn't feel like I always hoped it would feel. If I could go back in time now, I wouldn't do it again. It didn't feel… like it was perfect. Once we actually started, he didn't stop, even though I was whimpering in pain, since it was my first time. I didn't blame him, because it was the heat of the moment, I convinced myself, but now I realize I should expect better." I looked at his face, and grimaced, saying, "I'm sorry. That was probably too much for you."

"No, it's okay," he muttered, looking calmer now than he had before. "It's all right, Elizabeth. I understand. Everyone makes mistakes."

I buried my face in his chest, murmuring, "You're too good for me, Carver. You're so understanding and loving and forgiving. How could I ever deserve you?"

"You don't have to deserve me, Elizabeth," he told me firmly. "I love you for who you are, and I wouldn't want you any other way."

I lifted my head from his chest, grinning in a deliriously happy way. "You're amazing," I told him. "And I love you, Carver."

"I love you, too, Elizabeth," he muttered, and I rolled back onto my back, snuggling up to him again. Suddenly, he raised his head, and said, "I know this is sort of an awkward question, but I figure we're close enough that I can ask you this."

"Go ahead, Carver, shoot," I told him, looking up at him.

"Do you… do you _want_ to have sex with me?" he asked bluntly, though he blushed a deep red color as he did so.

I felt my own cheeks flame as I said, "Well… yes. I mean… not necessarily any time soon, but eventually, yes, yes I do."

"Oh," he said simply, laying his head back down. "Elizabeth, I'm sorry if I can't give you what you want right away. And I'm sorry that I have the emotional maturity of an infant at the moment."

"It's all right, Carver," I chuckled. "I didn't expect anything of the sort anytime soon. It took Wanda over a year for her to be ready to sleep with Ian, so I'm prepared to wait for as long as it takes."

"This is why I love you," he murmured, pressing a kiss to my hair.

"I love you, too," I muttered, closing my eyes. "Good night, Carver."

"Good night, Elizabeth."

And for the first time in seven months, I fell asleep almost as soon as I closed my eyes.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: I own nothing

**A/N: I own nothing. Thanks for all the reviews, and the previous chapter was obviously NOT the last chapter. I will let you know when it's the last chapter, and the story will say it's been completed. Please read, review, and enjoy! **

Chapter 15

Wanderer's POV

Breakfast the next morning was blissful at first.

Elizabeth and Carver were sitting next to each other, both smiling happily and leaning against each other. Ian and Kyle were exchanging relieved glances, seeming overjoyed to have their sister happy again.

I, for one, was satisfied to see all the members of my family alive and happy as well.

Of course, the bliss couldn't last long.

Sharon looked more furious than I had ever seen her as she approached our table, practically shooting daggers from her eyes at Carver and Elizabeth. "So it's true," she sneered hatefully, still glaring at the pair of them.

"What is?" Elizabeth said slowly, deliberately playing stupid. I noticed that she glanced sideways at Carver nervously and grasped his hand even tighter. Her worry wasn't groundless; he looked anxiously between Sharon and Elizabeth, as if he thought one of them was going to spontaneously combust.

"You're that _worm's_ partner," Sharon spat. "How could you? Jeremy, a human, _loved_ you! And he's… nothing but a goddamn bugger!"

"You shut _up_!" Elizabeth snarled, letting go of Carver's hand and standing up. Despite being younger, she was about an inch taller than Sharon was, and she glared down at her. "Just shut the hell up!"

"First Ian, then Kyle, now _you_?" Sharon said. "It must run in the family, eh?"

At her words, anger boiled in my stomach like never before. I had experienced mild forms of anger before, but never like this, never this strong.

I wasn't sure what exactly inside of me had snapped, but I guessed it was when she insulted my family, all the people I cared about and loved.

Standing, I made my way over to Sharon and Elizabeth and forced myself between the two of them, glaring angrily at the redhead in front of me. Elizabeth opened her mouth to protest, but seemed to think better of it, taking a small step backward.

I could feel everyone's eyes on me, but I ignored the feeling, saying, "Don't say another word, Sharon."

She faltered, obviously not used to seeing me angry (then again, no one was), but quickly regained her cold cruelty, sneering, "And why would I listen to a worm like you?"

"Shut up!" I roared as loudly as I could with my high-pitched voice. "Say another word against my family, I dare you, and see what happens!"

"They are not your family," she snarled at me. "You don't belong here, you never have, and you never will."

For once in the past two years, I ignored all my doubts about whether or not I actually deserved a place in this community, and I listened to everything Ian ever said to me about my belonging there.

"You obviously don't understand the meaning of family," I told her, taking a step forward as menacingly as I could. I must've been doing a good job, because she hastily took a step back, starting to look a bit scared. "They love me, and I love them more than anything else in any of the worlds I've ever been to. Ian, Kyle, Sunny, Elizabeth, Carver, Melanie, Jamie, and Jared. They're all my family. Ian is my partner. Kyle, Jamie, Jared, and Carver are like the brothers I never had, and Melanie, Elizabeth, and Sunny are the sisters I've never had. So you leave them the _hell_ alone or I'll make sure you regret it."

The entire kitchen was silent as Sharon hastily fled the room. Finally, Jared broke the silence by clapping loudly and cheering. "Yeah!" he called obnoxiously. "Score one for Wanda!"

I felt heat flood my cheeks as I sat down next to Ian again, burying my face determinedly in his chest. His strong arms wrapped around me tightly, crushing me to him. He must've noticed how embarrassed I was, because he quickly shepherded me out of the kitchen and toward the fields, where we would be working that day. When he was silent the whole way there, I thought I had done something wrong.

"Ian…" I said, my voice soft and quiet. "I'm sorry."

He looked at me, his blue eyes wide with surprise. His mouth opened.

Then closed.

Then opened again.

"Sorry for what, Wanderer?" he gaped at me.

"For yelling at Sharon like that," I muttered, blushing and staring at the ground beneath my feet. "I had no right to do that, I'm sorry."

He grabbed me gently by the shoulders and lowered his head so that he was looking me in the eyes. "Wanderer," he said, speaking my name slowly. "That was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen you do, and I've seen you do a lot of amazing things. It was one of the best moments of my life, seeing you finally accept that you belong here, and defending us."

"But I yelled at her," I murmured, feeling guilty now. "I was angry, and it was wrong."

"Not wrong," he reasoned, using his finger under my chin to draw my face closer to his. "Just human."

He closed the gap between us then, capturing my lips with his. I willingly opened my mouth to him, my arms instinctively wrapping around his neck. He moaned as his tongue met mine and his hands firmly seized my waist. I felt my hands wander down his back of their own volition and pulled away from him slightly. "Do you think… we could convince Jeb to let us both have the rest of the day off?"

He gaped at me, easily reading the double meaning of my words, but he quickly regained his composure and grasped my hand, pulling me toward the kitchen. "I don't know," he said, smiling sideways at me. "But let's find out, shall we?"

RRRRRR

Elizabeth's POV

That night in our cave, Carver was unusually silent, which sort of freaked me out. It's just in his personality to be on the talkative side, especially around me and especially when we're alone.

"Carver?" I asked, staring at him intently in the darkness. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he muttered, avoiding making eye contact with me almost religiously. "I'm fine."

"You're a shitty liar," I told him, shaking my head. "I _know_ something's wrong with you, so you might as well just tell me now."

He sighed loudly, before turning his hazel eyes toward me. "It's just… what if Sharon was onto something?"

I gaped at him. "You can't honestly believe a word that bitch says, Carver."

"It's just… what if I don't belong here?" he muttered, sounding worried.

I said, "Carver, of _course_ you belong here. I love you, okay? _I love you_. And you don't need to know anything else. Isn't that enough to keep you here? To convince you that you belong here?"

He sucked in a sharp breath, and I hadn't realized how upset I sounded until I heard him. "Of course it is, Elizabeth," he said softly, reaching out to me with a hand. I took his hand in mine and pressed to my cheek; his thumb began to stroke the skin beneath it. "That's more than enough."

"Then what's wrong?" I asked, sounding upset, even to myself this time.

"I just can't help but worry about what the others think of me," he murmured as I scooted closer to him.

"'Those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind,'" I quoted quietly.

"Who said that?" he chuckled, sensing that the words weren't my own.

"Dr. Seuss," I replied, allowing myself to laugh a little. "Carver, don't worry about what everyone else thinks of you. I promise you, the only two people who don't think you belong here are Sharon and Magnolia, and they're both just plain ridiculous. Understand?"

"Yes, I understand," he murmured, his breath washing over my face. "I'm sorry I upset you."

"It's not your fault, Carver," I said, shaking my head, feeling him press his hand further against my cheek. "I guess it's natural for you to feel like that. Ian mentioned that Wanda _still_ has issues accepting the fact that she belongs here."

"I _do_ love you, you know," he told me earnestly. "More than I can even begin to understand or comprehend at all, but I do. If it weren't for you, I would've left Earth after I left Jeremy's body."

"I love you, too," I murmured in reply, surprised that I didn't wince when he mentioned Jeremy. Ever since his death, event he slight mention of Jeremy caused me some sort of pain.

But it would seem that was gone.

Grinning happily to myself, I leaned forward and kissed him firmly, one of my hands reaching around to cup the back of his neck. He responded immediately, stifling a moan in the back of his throat as he firmly grasped my waist.

After a few moments of kissing him happily, I pulled away, frowning to myself, with a question on my mind.

Now it was _his_ turn to worry about _me_.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking at me worriedly. "Elizabeth, are you okay?"

"I have a question I want to ask you," I told him softly. "But I don't want you to take it the wrong way. So hear me out before you start answering."

"Anything for you, Lizzy," he told me sweetly, and I bit my lip, forcing myself not to grin goofily.

"Why do you love me?" I asked. "I can't seem to think of any extraordinary reason for you to. And I _know_ that you do love me, but… I'd just like to know why."

"At first, it was just the body," he told me slowly, hesitantly, as if he thought it'd offend me. "And his memories… so vivid, and they put you in such a light that I couldn't _help_ but fall in love with you."

"And then?" I prompted him when he fell silent.

"After about two weeks in Jeremy's body, I began to notice things about you, things not from memories that I loved about you," he told me softly. "Like how angry you get when someone crosses your family. How you bite your lip whenever you're thinking about something. How…"

"Carver?" I said, grinning broadly in the darkness. "I kind of got the point."

"Right," he said, running a hand through his dark hair and chuckling to himself. "I fell in love with you. All by myself. When you told me I'd get another chance at love, I couldn't bring myself to believe it. I loved you and only you. I loved you from the moment I woke up in this new body." I saw him cock his head at me in the darkness, as he asked, "Is that all you wanted to know?"

"Yes," I breathed quietly. "That's all I needed to hear." I buried my face in the crook of his neck, my lips brushing involuntarily against his skin.

His arms wrapped around me tightly, and I could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest against mine. It felt… right.

Almost like I belonged in his arms.

And nothing had the power to keep us apart.

I pulled away, bringing myself face to face with him. "Carver," I said softly, "I love you."

"I love you, too, Elizabeth," he murmured back. "I'll never love anyone else; it simply isn't possible."

With that, he closed the distance between us, pressing his lips against mine. It was clear by the way he attempted to pull away after a few seconds that he had intended it to be a brief kiss, but I had other ideas. My arms looped around his neck as I opened his mouth to him, causing him to stifle a soft moan as his arms wrapped around my waist tightly. I pulled away slightly, planting kisses along his jaw line before moving on to his neck. He inhaled sharply when I sucked at the place where his neck met his shoulder, and his grip on me tightened considerably. "Elizabeth," he breathed. "Stop. Please stop."

I pulled away, feeling ashamed of myself now. "Why?"

"Too much," he said, shaking his head apologetically. "It's too much."

"I'm sorry, Carver," I told him, relocating to the other side of the mattress.

"Elizabeth," he sighed, crawling over toward me. "You did nothing wrong, I swear. It's my fault actually. I'm still having a hard time getting used to the intensity of these human emotions. When we were kissing, I…"

His voice trailed off, so I urged him on. "You what, Carver?"

"I had this overwhelming urge to… to be _inside _of you," he said, and I could practically hear the frown in his voice. "And I don't know what that was all about."

I fought the urge to giggle, as I asked, "What kind of introduction did you get into this species?"

"Basics," he replied with a shrug. "Anatomy of both the male and female. How to recognize hunger, thirst, and pain. How to recognize when I needed to… relieve myself. I was warned that the emotions and memories would be vivid and overwhelming."

"What did they tell you about how humans… reproduce?" I continued.

"They just told me that you called it 'sex,'" he replied bluntly. "Or sleeping with someone. They taught me numerous euphemisms for it."

"Oh," I said simply. "And you've never had a partner before?"

"No," he replied slowly.

"So I guess you wouldn't really know the, er… _logistics_ of sex," I stated bluntly, and even though I couldn't see him in the darkness, I _knew_ he was blushing furiously.

"No," he repeated softly.

"Well," I said, blushing myself now, "I'm not going to go into great detail, but… sex is basically when a man is _inside_ of a woman."

I waited a moment for that to sink in, and he finally said, "You mean… oh. Like that?"

"Yes," I nodded.

"So when I felt like that… it was me wanting to have sex with you?" he asked for clarification.

"I think so," I said slowly, feeling like I was explaining something to a precocious toddler.

"Oh," he said simply. After a few moments of silence, he said, "I'm sorry, Elizabeth. I just don't think I'm ready yet."

"You have nothing to apologize for," I told him firmly. "It is in no way your fault that you're not ready for such a big step in our relationship, and I'm more than willing to wait. Understand?"

He nodded. "Yes, I understand," he said, "I… thank you, Elizabeth."

"It's nothing," I assured him, burying my face in his chest.

Just then, the door to our cave slid open loudly. I looked up, and was surprised to see my brother standing at the entrance. "Ian? What's wrong?" I asked. He wore a frantic expression on my face that made me worry immensely.

He frowned at me, a panicked look in his blue eyes. "Wanda's sick."


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: I still own nothing

**A/N: I still own nothing. Please read and review! **

Chapter 16

Elizabeth's POV

"Ouch. Wanda, no offense, but you look like shit."

Ian had been right; Wanda was most _definitely _sick. After he had burst into our cave, Carver and I had followed him to the hospital wing. Wanda was lying on one of the beds, leaning halfway off of it, hovering over the mouth of a trash can. She was really pale and sweaty, and it was blatantly obvious that she had thrown up recently.

"I feel like that, too," she admitted, her voice shaky. Ian quickly made his way over to her and grasped her hand in his, pressing a quick kiss to her knuckles. Carver and I made our way over to her together, and I stood next to her bed, looking down at her worriedly.

Doc hovered nearby, saying, "I think she just reacted the wrong way to some food or something, or maybe caught some sort of bug. She should be fine, Ian."

"See? I'll be fine," Wanderer said, trying to convince Ian. "You don't need to worry so much about me."

"Okay, Wanderer," he said, frowning uncertainly.

I felt better as the color started to return to her face, and I said, "She's going to be fine, Ian. Carver and I are going to go back to bed."

And I was right.

She was fine.

Until two days later.

When Carver pointed out that no one had seen Ian and Wanda at breakfast, I realized he was right, and we went to the hospital wing, where we found said missing people. "What are you guys doing here?" I asked. "Is everything okay?"

"Wanderer's sick again," Ian said, sounding worried.

Wanderer looked exactly as she had the last time she had been sick, pale and sweaty. Ian hovered over her worriedly, his blue eyes alert.

Carver pressed a hand against her forehead and said, "She doesn't have a fever."

"How are you feeling, Wanda?" I asked her.

"Better," she said softly. Then she frowned. "But Elizabeth… I'm _late_."

I gaped at her, as Ian said, "Huh?"

At the same time, Carver asked, "What does that mean?"

"Wanderer, are you sure?" I asked for clarification before we jumped to any conclusions.

"Yes," she replied. "I've done the math numerous times in my head. I'm two weeks late."

"Holy shit," I muttered, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to the one Wanda was currently occupying. "Two weeks?" She nodded. Turning to Ian, I asked, "Normally, I wouldn't ask this, because it's none of my business, but right now it is."

"Just go ahead and ask me, Elizabeth," Ian told me, sounding frustrated. I guess that he was, what with his worry about Wanda and all.

"When was the last time the two of you slept together?" I asked quickly, hoping it would be less of an awkward question the faster I spat it out. Carver grasped my hand in his and squeezed it tightly. I chanced a glance at him and noticed that he was blushing a furious red color.

"W-what?" Wanderer spluttered, turning as red as a tomato.

"Well…" Ian said, turning a shade of red rivaling even Wanda's face.

"Last night?" I asked incredulously.

"And this morning," he muttered, looking down at his shoes.

"Last night _and_ this morning?" I repeated, wrinkling my nose. "You two are like rabbits." Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I asked, "But whatever. I mean… before this week."

"I think the first week of the month," Wanda supplied quietly, still blushing, and Ian nodded.

I looked shrewdly at my brother as I asked, "Did you use a condom?"

He furrowed his brow, trying to remember. Finally, he said, "No. No, I didn't."

Turning to Wanderer, I asked, "Are you on birth control?"

"Well, I was," she said, "but I ran out last month and we haven't gone on another raid."

"You think Wanda's pregnant?" Ian asked incredulously.

"Yeah," I told him, nodding slowly. "It seems like it." Looking around, I asked, "Where's Doc?"

"After I stopped throwing up, I convinced him to leave so that he could eat breakfast," Wanderer replied.

"He's _got_ to have some pregnancy tests around here somewhere," I muttered, letting go of Carver's hand and beginning to rummage around the room.

"I picked some up on a raid a few months ago because Mel mentioned it would be good idea to have some around," Wanderer supplied helpfully. "I think Doc put them next to the No Pain."

"Thanks, Wanda," I said, turning to her briefly to flash her a bright grin before returning to my hunt. I found the pregnancy tests right where she said they would be, next to the No Pain. I took one and made my way back over to Wanderer, handing her the box. "Ian, Carver- leave."

Carver made no protest as he exited the room obediently, but Ian folded his arms across his chest, saying, "No way in hell. I'm staying here for this."

"Ian, stop acting like a guard dog and leave," I commanded. "This is a girl thing."

Grumbling to himself, he followed Carver out of the room. "Sorry about that," I told Wanda. "I didn't want them to make you uncomfortable."

She nodded and said, "Thanks." She already had the box open, and she was reading the instructions provided for the test. "It says to put it in my mouth for a few seconds, and it'll beep when it's done. There's be a minus sign if I'm not pregnant, and a plus sign if I am."

"Sounds simple enough," I told her, as she stuck the test in her mouth. It looked remarkably like a human thermometer.

We sat together in comfortable silence for a few moments. And then the test began to beep. She pulled it out of her mouth and stared at it, her eyes growing wide as I watched her intently. Finally, she spluttered, "I'm pregnant."

Cracking a grin, I gently took the test from her, looking down at the plus sign myself. I set it next to her on the bed and hugged her tightly, saying, "Congratulations, Wanderer."

RRRRRRRR

Wanderer's POV

After she hugged me, Elizabeth left the room to fetch Ian, who quickly stumbled in, looking anxious. "What is it, Wanderer?" he asked, coming to me and holding both of my hands in his.

"Ian, I…" I started, but my high-pitched voice trailed off into uncertainly. I wasn't sure how to tell him. Would he be happy? Or would he share Jared's views on bringing a child into this world and be furious, or worse, disappointed?

I didn't even know what _I _was thinking. I was scared, very scared. Nothing could've prepared me for human motherhood. And I was extremely happy, too. I could think of nothing that would bring me more joy than having a child, _my_ child, _Ian's_ child.

"What is it?" he repeated, reaching out and brushing a lock of my blonde hair away from my face. "Come on, Wanda, you can tell me anything."

I sucked in a sharp, deep breath. "Ian, I'm pregnant."

His blue eyes widened upon hearing my words, and his grip on my hands tightened. "What did you just say, Wanderer?"

"I said that I'm pregnant," I repeated, wondering if he was having trouble hearing me.

The shock on his face told me otherwise.

Then, a broad grin spread across his handsome face. "We're going to have a baby!" he cried joyfully, taking me up in his arms and squeezing me tightly. Then he pulled back, saying, "Oh. Maybe I should be more careful, huh?"

"Maybe," I said, grinning broadly back at him. "You're not angry?"

"Angry?" he gaped at me. "Wanderer, how could I _ever_ be angry at you? Other than the first moment you told me you loved me and the first time we were together, this is the happiest moment of my life so far."

"Really?" I said, burying my face in his chest. "Ian, I'm so scared."

"I know. It'll be fine, Wanderer," he said, pressing a kiss to my fluffy blonde hair. "I'll be here with you the whole way, okay?"

As I nodded into his chest, I knew it was true; he'd never leave my side.

And with Ian by my side, I could face anything.

RRRRR

Elizabeth's POV

One day about two months after the discovery of Wanda's pregnancy, I went straight from work to the washroom, only stopping by the cave I shared with Carver to grab some clothes. I had been working with Ian and Kyle in the fields that day, both of whom had been in an extremely playful mood, which resulted in an extremely filthy me.

Sighing and chuckling into the darkness of the washroom, I called out, "Is anyone in there?"

There was no reply, so I began to strip myself of my clothing. When I was completely naked, I slid myself into the cool water and began scrubbing myself down with soap.

Right when I was shampooing my hair, I heard someone else's footsteps in the washroom and I froze. After a few nerve-wracking moments, I called out, "Who's there?"

"Elizabeth?" replied a shocked, familiar voice.

It was Carver.

I relaxed, as he stammered, "I'm s-sorry, Elizabeth. I shouldn't asked if a-anyone was in h-here. I'll j-just leave now."

"It's okay, Carver," I chuckled, "Go ahead and take a bath. I don't mind."

"But I-" he started.

"It's dark, Carve," I cut him off. "We won't even be able to see each other."

"Okay," he agreed slowly, still sounding hesitant. I heard the soft sounds of him undressing himself and then the soft splashing noise of him slipping into the water.

I stayed where I was, treading water quietly as I rinsed the shampoo out of my hair. After a few moments of comfortable silence, he asked, "Elizabeth? I seem to have forgotten shampoo. Can I borrow yours?"

"Sure," I chirped, swimming over to the ledge where I knew I had left my shampoo. I grabbed it and started to make my way over to Carver, when I realized I had no idea where he was. "Um, Carver, where _are_ you?"

He chuckled and proceeded to make some splashing noises, which I followed, one hand extended. I finally grasped his shoulder and handed him the shampoo. It was my intention, but, in the darkness, I got too close to him and my thigh brushed his torso. Without warning, he grabbed my shoulders firmly and planted a kiss on my lips. I gasped in surprise into his mouth, my arms looping around his neck possessively.

Without thinking much, I wrapped my legs around his waist, and I could feel his erection pressing against me. I pulled back hastily, my eyes wide in the darkness. "Carver, I'm so sorry. I'll just go to dinner, then…"

"No!" he said urgently, leaning forward and grasping my wrists tightly. He pulled me back to him, kissing me firmly. "Please don't go anywhere without me."

"Carver, I don't want to torture you like this," I told him softly. "You're already aroused, I felt it. And you're not ready yet…"

"Elizabeth, let me talk," he instructed me. "I think I'm ready."

"What?" I said, gaping at him even though I knew he couldn't see me.

"I'm ready," he repeated, sounding more confident. "The past two weeks, when we kiss, the feeling has gotten stronger, and it doesn't scare me anymore. I want to _be_ with you, Lizzy."

"Okay," I said slowly, unsure of what to say next.

He kissed me again briefly, then he pulled away, suggesting, "Maybe we should take this back to our cave?"

"Yeah, sounds good," I said, grinning to myself. Despite the fact that I was nervous, I couldn't contain my excitement. Carver was finally going to make love to me!

Within moments we were both fully clothed again and on our way to our cave. Thankfully, we didn't see anyone else in the halls; I assumed pretty much everyone else was at dinner. When we reached our cave, Carver pulled me into it and slid the door shut behind us. "Okay, I know _I'm_ ready," Carver sighed, "but I don't want to force you into this if you aren't."

"No, no, I am ready!" I told him earnestly. "I'm sorry if I didn't seem to sure of it back in the washroom. I was just surprised. I was prepared to wait for about another ten months or so."

"Oh," he said simply. He wasn't properly reassured, because he didn't close the distance between us, so _I _did. I wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him with my mouth open. He grunted and began to respond, his lips moving against mine. Both his hands wandered down to my waist, grasping it tightly and pulling me against him. I could feel his erection pressing against me, and I rubbed against it, causing a moan to erupt from the back of his throat.

We toppled onto the mattress together, him on top of me. He supported his own weight above me with a hand on either side of my head. He shifted to one side as one of his hands wandered down to the hem of my shirt. However, he hesitated, so I grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled it toward his head. He grinned down at me and sat back on his heels, pulling his shirt off over his head. I let my hands wander over his chest and abdomen, watching the play of his muscles beneath my touch. Then he reached for the hem of my shirt and attempted to pull it off of me, but failing when it caught at my armpits. Chuckling, I pulled it the remainder of the way off myself.

One of his fumbling hands reached for the snap of my bra and undid it, gently pulling the article of clothing aside. His eyes grew wide, as his mouth struggled to form words. "What?" I chuckled. "Spit it out, Carver."

"There are no words for how amazing you are," he finally said, slowly kissing each inch of my exposed skin. I gasped when his lips connected with a particularly ticklish spot, and I pulled his head back up to my eye level. Wordlessly, I reached for his belt, fumbling a bit with it and then pulling it off with a flourish. I quickly undid the button and the zipper of his jeans before struggling to pull them downward. He did that for me himself before pulling my own pants off.

Soon, both of us were completely naked, and I was vaguely reminded of the one time I had sex with Jeremy, something I didn't want to think about at that moment.

However, there was one difference this time.

I knew no matter what, Carver would _never_ hurt me, even if it was in the middle of making love.

And that was when I knew for sure I had made the right choice.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Hey, sorry that I've been gone for so long

**A/N: Hey, sorry that I've been gone for so long. But high school keeps you busy! And I'm going through a rough time in my life. Anyway, I still own nothing. Please read and review! **

Chapter 17

Elizabeth's POV

"'Girls on film…'"

I was humming under my breath as I worked in the fields, rhythmically digging through the dirt. Sweat was beading on my forehead and down my back, but I ignored it, muttering all the words I knew to the Duran Duran song.

"Elizabeth!" a voice called.

It was Ian. He had returned with several bottles of water, one for each person working in the fields. "Toss it to me," I called back. Smiling, he gently tossed a bottle of water in my direction, and I caught it with ease. "Thanks."

"No problem, sis," he replied, unscrewing his own bottle and chugging down nearly half of it.

As I took a swig from my own bottle, I felt a stab of pain my abdomen. I winced; I had been feeling that pain all day. _It's probably just cramps or something_, I told myself. _No need to get worried_. Forcing myself to ignore the pain for the moment, I asked, "Where's Carver?"

"I'm right here," said a warm voice as a pair of strong arms wrapped around my abdomen tightly.

I winced as his arms squeezed the spot where my pain was centered, but turned my face up toward him, smiling, nonetheless. "Hey, there," I said, turning around so that my chest was pressed to his.

I heard Ian mutter, "I'll just… be over there."

"How are you?" Carver asked, beaming brightly down at me, leaning down to capture my lips with his. My arms wrapped around his neck, water sloshing in the bottle, as I deepened the kiss, parting his lips with my tongue. His tongue danced with mine briefly, before he pulled away. "You need to answer my question."

Grinning despite yet another stab of pain, I replied, "Good. And you?"

"Absolutely brilliant," he replied, his smile growing wider, which I had not known was possible. His arms tightened around me again, squeezing the extremely sore spot. A look of pain crossed my face, something that I was unable to hide from Carver. "What's wrong?" he demanded, releasing me immediately. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you? I'm sorry."

"Relax, Carve," I told him, taking his hands in mine and pulling him to me, burying my face in his chest. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not, Elizabeth," he told me, sounding concerned as he cupped my face in his hands, pulling it away from his chest. "You were clearly in pain just a second ago. What's wrong?"

"I've just been having cramps or something all day," I told him simply, shrugging nonchalantly. "It's nothing to be worried about."

"Are you sure?" he asked, his eyebrows knitting together in concern. "Maybe you should rest for the remainder of the day. Or maybe you should see Doc."

I scowled at him. "Carver, I can take care of myself."

"I know, Elizabeth," he told me softly, his thumb caressing my cheekbone tenderly. "But you can't take care of yourself all the time. No one can. I just don't want anything bad to happen to you."

How did he do that? How did he know how to take a statement that would normally piss me off beyond belief and turn it into one of the sweetest things I'd ever heard? Involuntarily, I smiled, as I said, "Thanks, Carver, but I'll be fine."

"If you say so," he said, sounding doubtful as he eyed me worriedly.

"We should both get back to work," I told him firmly, kissing him longingly on the lips once more. "I'll talk to you at lunch, okay?"

"Okay," he said, reluctantly releasing me and turning his back to resume his work.

RRRRRRR

It was nearly noon that day when it happened. I don't know exactly what happened, because all I remember was that I was working in the fields. The pain that I convinced myself was only cramps suddenly intensified, so much so that I had to stop working to squat down on the ground in an attempt to catch my breath. I heard Ian's voice say, "Elizabeth, are you okay?"

I remember muttering something in reply, probably something incoherent. And then…

Only darkness.

RRRRRRRR

When I next woke, I was in the hospital wing, the worried face of Doc hovering over me and nausea sweeping over me like a tidal wave. "She's waking up," he murmured, looking pleased before he turned to put away the Awake. I felt pressure on my hand and realized that Carver was holding it, and I did my best to return the pressure.

"Elizabeth," Carver muttered, sounding slightly relieved. He bent his head toward mine and kissed me lightly on the lips, pulling away with a grim expression. "I thought you said you were going to be okay."

"I am okay," I insisted stubbornly. "I just… got a little overheated, is all."

"That's a lie," he told me, frowning at me. "You're used to hard work, you wouldn't get overheated. It was the pain you were telling me about earlier, wasn't it? Elizabeth, pain that makes you pass out cannot be healthy."

"What pain?" Doc said interestedly. I sighed, and I forced myself to tear my gaze from Carver. I finally realized that Doc and Carver were not the only two in the room with me. Both of my brothers, Wanda, and Jeb were present as well.

"I've been having pain in my abdomen all day," I told him. "I thought it was just cramps, but right before I passed out, it intensified considerably."

"Hmmm," Doc said interestedly, his eyebrows knitting together. "Where's your pain?"

"Right here," I said, removing my hand from Carver's and indicating a spot on my stomach. After I moved my hand, he pressed down gently on the spot.

"Does that hurt?" he asked, keeping the pressure steady.

"No," I replied truthfully. He released the pressure and the pang of pain that followed was nearly unbearable. "Ahhh." Carver grimaced and grabbed my hand again, squeezing it.

"Do you feel nauseous?" Doc asked. I nodded my head. Frowning, he muttered, "Appendicitis."

"What?" Kyle demanded loudly. "Are you saying that she has appendicitis, Doc?"

"I'm ninety-nine percent sure," he replied. "The spot she indicated as the source of the pain is the approximate location of the appendix, and rebound pain and nausea are indicative symptoms."

"So her appendix is going to burst," Ian said grimly, his mouth a thin line as he held the terrified-looking Wanda close to him. "How soon?"

"There's no way for me to know without a CT scan," Doc replied. "But I definitely need to remove it, the sooner the better."

"Will she be okay?" Carver asked anxiously.

"She will be, as soon as I get it out of her," Doc told him.

"But Doc," Jeb said, lowering his voice, "we're nearly out of medical supplies. And by the time we go on a raid to get new ones…"

"There's not going to be enough time," Doc said sharply. "There's not enough time for a raid."

"Not even a quick one?" Kyle asked desperately, looking at me with anxious eyes. I hated that look. I hated it when my brothers or Carver or anyone looked at me as if I was incapable of caring for myself.

"No," Doc said, shaking his head. "There's no way for us to tell how soon her appendix will burst, and when it does, it won't be long before the toxins spread throughout her blood system."

"So no raid," Jeb sighed. "Wanda, would you mind checking the supply cabinet for us?"

"No problem," she whispered quietly, prying herself from Ian's grasp and flashing me a worried look on her was past. She peered into the boxes of medical supplies, and when she spoke, her voice was fearful. "We're out of Sleep and chloroform. So there's nothing to put her under with."

"I wouldn't mind having the surgery with No Pain, even if I had to be awake," I supplied, hoping that I was being helpful. Carver squeezed my hand again, and I got the feeling that he was more terrified than I was, despite the sharp jolt of pain that rocked my system at that moment.

"That's just the problem," Wanda said, her voice shaky. "We're out of No Pain, too."

A grim mood settled over the room. "So we have to go on a raid," Ian said thickly, sounding like he was about to cry. Glancing at his sapphire eyes, I realized it was true; his eyes were shining with unshed tears.

"But there's no time, Ian," Kyle sighed in exasperation, running a hand through his hair. "By the time we get back, Elizabeth could be dead."

"Well, if we don't bring back more medical supplies, she'll die without the surgery, Kyle!" Ian yelled, his hands balling into fists. "What do you want us to do?"

"I want to save our little sister, that's what!" Kyle screamed back.

"Simmer down, boys," Jeb said, his voice a warning.

"Would you guys quit arguing?" I asked, rolling my eyes. I struggled to sit upright, my efforts sending pain through my system again. "You both want to save me, okay? And I have a simple solution."

"Pray, do enlighten us, so we can stop worrying our asses off," Kyle said.

"You won't go on a raid, and I will have the surgery," I said simply.

"But Elizabeth, we're out of No Pain," Ian said.

"Then I'll just have to do without it," I said grimly.

"No." It was Carver who spoke this time. He was looking at me with a fierce fire in his hazel eyes. "No, I won't let you do that, Elizabeth. Do you have any idea how painful that would be?"

"I think I have some idea," I reminded him, wincing as another jab of pain shot through me. "Carver, it's either wait for the supplies and risk dying or just die without the surgery. I'll be in a lot of pain, but I'll get through it, and I'll live."

"Elizabeth," he said, his voice thick with tears and emotion. "Are you sure this is what you have to do?"

"Unless you'd prefer me dying," I said. "Because that's the other alternative."

"No, of course not," he replied, looking appalled at the very idea. "All right then. If you're sure. But I'm going to be here with you the whole time."

"A-are you sure, Carver?" I asked, stunned. "You don't have to, I know it'll just traumatize you…"

"No, I want to be here for you," he said firmly. "Someone needs to be here to hold your hand the whole time."

"He's right, you know," Doc said. "That should help."

"When should we do it, Doc?" I asked.

"The sooner we get it out, the better," he replied.

With that, my mind was made up. "All right then, let's get to it," I said.

"I'll go get my surgical tools and a towel for you to bite on," he murmured, leaving quickly. "And Inside Clean… and outside Clean… and Heal… and Smooth."

"Good luck, kid," Jeb said, ruffling my hair. "You're a fighter, I know you'll pull through."

"Thanks, Jeb," I replied. "Don't let everyone worry about me too much."

"You better pull through this, Elizabeth," Kyle said gruffly, though his watering eyes betrayed his true emotions. "Or else. I love you, sis." He placed a brotherly kiss on my forehead.

"I love you, too, Kyle."

"You'll be fine, I know it, Liz," Ian said, though he was looking down at me worriedly. "Wanda and I will be right outside if anything happens. I love you." He kissed my forehead as well.

"I love you, too, Ian."

Wanda said nothing at first, her lower lip trembling, before she finally choked out, "It'll all be okay, Elizabeth. I love you."

I was dumbfounded, but I managed to reply, "I love you too, Wanda."

And then they were gone. "Elizabeth," Carver said slowly, tears pooling in his hazel eyes. "I just want you to know that, no matter what happens, I'll always love you, okay? And I'm gonna be here the whole time."

"I'm not going to leave you, Carver," I told him firmly. "And I'll always love you, too."

He opened his mouth, as if to say something else, but Doc returned at that moment and said, "Let's get down to it."


End file.
